46 



FORESTRY IN NEW ENGLAND 



Trees bear prolific crops of cones which open some two or 

 three weeks later than those of white pine, owing to the cooler 

 situations in which the spruce occurs. For a germinating bed 

 it prefers decaying logs or moss, but does well on bare mineral 

 soil or one covered with needles. In any small opening in a 

 spruce forest numerous seedhngs can generally be found, and on 



Fig. 17. — A stand of spruce 60-70 years of age on an old field. Note the number , 

 size of dead branches still on the trees. 



abandoned fields in the spruce region reproduction invariably 

 follows. The young roots cannot penetrate the leaf litter of a 

 hardwood forest, and spruce reproduction in such places is, 

 therefore, scarce. 



Like most conifers it is severely damaged by fire, and, as 

 mentioned above, is very susceptible to windfall. There are 

 also several bark-boring insects which cause periodic damage. 

 Though spruce is neither as rapid growing nor as valuable as 

 white pine, its natural adaptability to the higher and northern 

 portions of New England, its value for many uses as lumber and 

 pulp, its fair growth and easy reproduction, all combine to make 

 it the most important tree to encourage in the higher elevations. 



