The Pine Family 



FIG. 16. Western Hemlock. 



i. V/ESTERN HEMLOCK. Tsuga heterophylla. (Rafinesque) Sargent. 



The largest and best of the hemlocks, this tree grows to a 

 height of two hundred feet, with a diameter of six or eight feet 

 and bark an inch and a half 

 thick. The branches are short 

 and drooping; the leaves are 

 two-ranked, about three quar- 

 ters of an inch long, with very 

 small teeth at the point; the 

 cones are never more than an 

 inch long, reddish-brown and 

 drooping. The tree is easy to distinguish, as its short droop- 

 ing branches give it the form of a very narrow cone. 



This is a valuable timber tree. Its wood is durable and free 

 from knots. It is sawn into lumber of all kinds and ranks in 

 value along with the spruces, pines and firs for rougher uses. 



It grows in rich moist soil in river valleys and on mountain 

 slopes, and is distributed down the coast region of British 

 Columbia, also in suitable locations across the southern part 

 of the province to the western slope of the Rocky Mountains. 



2. BLACK HEMLOCK. Tsuga M?rtensiana. (Bongard) Carriere. 



This is a smaller tree than the preceding, seldom reaching a 



height cf more than one hun- 

 dred feet. It can be easily 

 distinguished from its larger 

 relative by the leaves, which, 

 instead of being in two rows, 

 are given off in all directions 

 and are often much scattered 

 on the main branches. The 



FIG. 17. Black Hemlock. 



cc.nes, too, are larger, sometimes three inches long, and erect 

 until about half grown, but usually drooping when mature. 



