LIVING THINGS IN MY YARD 271 



while in southern California we rarely find native trees in 

 the yard, for most of them have been introduced from 

 other localities. In addition, many kinds of ornamental 

 shrubs or bushes may be found. These plants are usually 

 quite low and have several stems instead of one long trunk 

 like a tree. 



Evergreens. Most yards contain evergreens which 

 are often introduced because of their beauty. The term 

 " evergreen " means that such trees do not shed their 

 leaves all at once as do our deciduous trees. The ever- 

 greens, such as spruces or balsam firs, may usually be told 

 by their small needle-like leaves. The pines have straight, 

 tall stems and the needles come out in groups of from two 

 to five in a cluster. The hemlocks and balsams have 

 needles which come out singly but are arranged on oppo- 

 site sides of the twig, while the needles of the spruce come 

 out singly but all over the branch, like bristles on a brush. 

 The evergreens produce their seeds in cones and so are 

 called conifers. 



Deciduous Trees. It would be impossible to give more 

 than a few hints as to how to know the common deciduous 

 trees. You must go to one of the reference books for 

 that. But some different trees can be told from their 

 leaves and bark. For example, the maples have their 

 branches opposite on the trunk and leaves sharply pointed 

 and deeply notched. Maple fruits are winged seeds held 

 together in pairs. The birches and poplars have easily dis- 

 tinguished outer bark, which is yellow green on the poplar 

 and light colored and easily peeling in the birches. The 

 elms are known by their graceful shape and leaves, shown 

 on the next page. The oaks we recognize by their fruit, 

 the acorn, and their much-lobed leaf. This paragraph 

 will give you a start. Get a good book and see how many 

 trees you can identify. There may be a few trees and a 

 good many shrubs and cultivated flowers that you cannot 



