THE RATE OF DEVELOPMENT OF THE CONES OF THE 



NORWAY SPRUCE 



J. BEN HILL, PENNSYLVANIA STATE COLLEGE 



IN collecting material for class study, the writer had 

 occasion to make several collections of the cones of 

 the Norway spruce (Picea excelsa), which furnish 

 data on the rate of development of the ovulate cones of 

 the species. In the latitude of central Pennsylvania, both 

 staminate and pistillate cones appear about in the middle 

 of May, the exact date varying with the season. 



The staminate cones come out a few days in advance of 

 the pistillate, the latter about the time the pollen is shed. 

 The young pistillate cone of this species is one of the 

 most beautiful of the so-called "flowers" of the conifers. 



difficult to locate at first, they can be found very readily 

 after a little practice. 



Though it is well known that the spruces mature their 

 cones within one year and shed their seed the following 

 spring, the rate of growth is perhaps less well known. 

 At the time of pollination, the pistillate cone of the 

 Norway spruce is about one and one-half inches to one 

 and three-quarter inches in length. Cones of this type 

 were collected May 12, approximately at the time of 

 pollination. (Fig. 1.) A second collection was made 

 May 24. This collection showed the cones very heavy 



INTERESTING PHASES IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE CONE 



The first section shows staminate and pistillate Strobili of the Norway Spruce, collected about the time of pollination. May 12, and the second section 

 shows the pistillate cones collected May 24. The third section gives a comparison in size of the young pistillate cone of Norway Spruce collected 

 May 12, one May 24, and one in midsummer. The latter is full grown, while the fourth figure shows mature cones of the Norway Spruce, shedding seed. 



They are colored a bright red and present a soft velvety 

 appearance. The young recurved scales of the cones are 

 unusually large and petal-like structures aggregated in a 

 body almost floral in outline. 



The small number of the pistillate cones as well as their 

 position renders them relatively inconspicuous in the 

 presence of the multitude of staminate cones, which gen- 

 erally cover the tree. These pistillate cones grow only 

 on the topmost branches or- at the extreme tips of the 

 long horizontal branches. At pollination time each pistil- 

 late cone stands erect on the tip of the branch which 

 bears it. While their scarcity makes them somewhat 



and pendant instead of erect as on the former date. 

 (Fig. 2.) These cones are at least half grown as shown 

 by an inspection of Figure 3, which shows the cones 

 of May 12 and May 24 compared with one taken in mid- 

 summer, which had attained its full size. The interesting 

 feature of this observation is the fact of the extremely 

 rapid growth in the early days of the development as 

 compared with the usual slow growth of the younger 

 cones of the conifers as familiar in the pines, which 

 after a year are scarcely larger than the flower when it 

 first opens. Figure 4 shows the cones of the Norway 

 spruce as they appear when open and shedding their seed. 



SAVE THE 



BY INEZ 



TF popularity may be judged by the frequency of pick- 

 A ing, the flowering dogwood may be said to be one of 

 our most popular wild shrubs. From the time it begins 

 to bloom in the spring, until the last flower has dropped, 

 there is a continual procession, both afoot and in the 

 automobiles to its haunts in the woods. The white 

 spread of blossoms, as seen from the roadside, acts as 

 a challenge to the passerby to enter and pick. And 

 what a generous response! Boys daily come trooping 

 back to town, with their arms full to dropping; automo- 

 bilists return from their afternoon's ride in the country, 

 their wind shield covered with the snowy white blossoms, 

 and huge branches tied upright from the running board. 



DOGWOOD! 



M. HARING 



A successful day ! But let us ask ourselves, if it was 

 success? Rather, was it not thoughtless vandalism? To 

 destroy one of our most beautiful flowering shrubs and 

 thus cause it slowly to disappear from certain parts of the 

 country, surely that cannot be counted as success. The 

 continual breaking of the branches and the cutting down 

 of the whole of the smaller trees, is diminishing our dog- 

 wood to such a degree, that there is danger of our losing 

 these shrubs almost entirely from our woods, in locali- 

 ties accessible to towns, villages, and cities. The time 

 has come for thoughtful people to take a hand and stop 

 this relentless destruction and save the dogwood. 



