84 BRITISH FOREST TREES 



latitudes with the larch ; in Silesia and East Prussia it forms 

 extensive forests, often in company with the Scots pine. 

 It is emphatically a tree of the upper hilly region, the more 

 so in proportion as the hills and mountains are massive in 

 formation, instead of consisting of a series of ridges and 

 chains ; it ascends to its greatest height when the general 

 elevation of the surrounding country is considerably above 

 the sea-level. Where the uplands fall away towards warm, 

 dry, lowland tracts the spruce is not indigenous, and though 

 pure forests of it are frequently to be found on indifferent 

 soils in these localities, they are almost always the result of 

 artificial production, and too often but poor in their produc- 

 tion of timber. 



Tree-form and Root-system of the spruce exhibit many 

 differences from, and indeed direct contrasts to, those of the 

 Scots pine. Its roots are mostly confined to the upper 

 layer of the soil, and these of one tree often interlace with 

 those of its nearest neighbours, thus obtaining some little 

 protection during high winds. Its horizontal root-system, 

 seldom going lower than 18-20 inches, and unprovided with 

 any deep-reaching tap-root, stamps it indeed as the tree of 

 shallow-soiled mountains, but offers it too often a sacrifice 

 to the winds. It develops great numbers of rootlets, and as 

 it also possesses the property of extending its roots to a great 

 distance, it has a comparatively large area from which to 

 draw supplies of nutriment, although owing to its density 

 when forming pure forests the individual growing-space 

 is limited beyond that of any other tree except perhaps the 

 silver fir. 



Although slower in growth during youth than the Scots 

 pine, it maintains a much steadier rate of increase in height 

 and grows up in dense canopy without much tendency to 

 branch formation or interruption. In height, length of 

 bole, straightness and full-woodedness of stem, freedom 



