TACTICAL ARBORICULTURE 



1 89 



The cypress is one of the most picturesque trees of the Southern States, as 

 well as being of great economic importance. In summer its foliage has the ap- 

 pearance of being an evergreen, but it drops its leaves with the advent of colder 

 wintry weather, and then its bare outstretched arms, draped with long pendant 

 clusters of gray Spanish moss, give it the look of a dead tree with weird aspect, 

 while nearly all other trees surrounding are clothed with green. 



Like the pines, hemlock, spruce and firs, it is a coniferous tree ; the cones are 

 small, and the seed, which is produced in greatest profusion, is quite small. Under 

 favorable conditions most of this seed would germinate and produce trees, al- 



CYI'KESS IN LOUISIANA SWAMP 



though in nature by far the greater quantity of seed falls among the grass, in the 

 water, or upon hard ground, and perishes. 



It is not being reproduced in forest in sufficient numbers to restore the loss 

 from clearing. 



Like the sequoias of California, giant arborvitae or cedar of Washington, and 

 the silk cotton tree of Africa, the cypress forms a very broad base, tapering 

 rapidly for a few feet, after which the trunk maintains a regular size to great 

 height. 



