SILVICULTURAL CHARACTERISTICS 



29 



NORWAY SPRUCE (Picea excelsa). 



The Norway spruce, like the Scotch pine, is native throughout 

 northern Europe, but is not peculiar to Norway any more than 

 the pine is to Scotland. It is distinctly a mountain tree, occur- 

 ring in the French Alps as high as 6000 feet. However, it thrives 

 not only on thin mountain soils but also on the plains, provided 

 the soil is not too dry. It grows more rapidly than our own red 

 spruce and the lumber is apparently as good. It is much in 

 demand in Europe, not only for general construction purposes 

 but for such special uses as the manufacture of musical instru- 

 ments. Wood fit for this work is only found in the mountains. 

 Trees 130 feet high are not uncommon in France. One of the 

 best plantations of this species in this country is that of the 

 Billings' Estate at Woodstock, Vermont, now 36 years old. 

 Tests of the wood of these trees, made by the International Paper 

 Company, showed that it made a whiter and stronger pulp than 

 our native spruce. 



This species is well adapted for planting in the Northeast on 

 any si'tes which are not too dry, up to an elevation of 2500 feet. 

 It can be especially recommended for planting openings in the 

 forest, because a certain amount of shade does not interfere with 

 its growth. On worn-out farm lands it is easily killed out by 

 strong grass growth in dry seasons. 



There are two objections to the Norway spruce. One is that 

 in New England it does not seem to live much more than fifty 

 years. This is not a serious objection from the standpoint of 

 raising pulp, since an excellent crop may be secured in thirty 

 to forty years. The other objection is that it does not repro- 

 duce itself well. Although it seeds plentifully, seedlings in 

 the neighborhood of old trees are rare. The tree has the same 

 reputation in Germany where it is largely propagated by 

 planting. 



The young plants are very susceptible to the scorching in- 

 fluence of sunlight and for that reason planting on southern 

 exposures should be done in the early fall, so that the trees may 



