7 



12 



THE NATURE BOOK 



TRUNK AND BARK OF SPRUCE. 



of short lengths of ribbon, are arranged 

 in a close spiral, crowded together, but, 

 as it were, combed out flat on either side 

 of the twig, the object being to get the 

 breathing surfaces underneath. The fruit 

 cones of the Firs have scales of a uniform 

 thickness, whilst those of the Pines show 

 scales having either a central or terminal 

 swelling. 



The Spnice. The bark is reddish grey, 

 and flakes off in thin rounded scales. The 

 leaves are short, narrow and thick, nearly 

 square in section. They appear as if 

 stroked down on to the twig, rather than 

 combed out laterally, and are of a dark 

 uniform green. The glistening brown 

 cones are spindle-shaped, and hang with 

 their points downwards. They remain 

 on the tree through the winter. Some 

 time in the following summer the cone- 

 scales gape apart, setting free the ripe 

 winged seeds. Later the empty cones fall 

 bodily. 



The Silver Fir. The tree becomes less 

 distinctly pyramidal, its top grows bushy 

 and eventually flattened. The bark is a 

 lighter gx&y, its scales are less rounded, 

 and there is the suggestion of fissures. 



The leaves are longer, broader, and rela- 

 tively thinner. Their under surface is 

 marked along its whole length b}^ a 

 pair of shining silver lines. The leaves 

 are more distinctly combed out. On the 

 fruiting branches, which are always near 

 the summit of the tree, they curve up- 

 wards, exposing freely their silvery under- 

 sides. The cones are cylindrical and 

 stand erect. Their surface is roughened 

 by spiny projections emerging from under 

 the scales. When the fruit is ripe, in 

 the autumn of the same year, the cone- 

 scales loosen and fall, releasing the seeds. 

 Only a bare central spike remains on the 

 tree. 



The Douglas Fir. The bark is thick, 

 reddish brown in colour, and deeply 

 furrowed. The leaves are more delicate 

 in texture. On the horizontal twigs 

 they are so flattened out on either side 

 that they might have been subjected to 

 pressure. They show two thin silvery 

 lines on the under side. The cones are 

 egg-shaped, of a light brown colour, and 

 the}' hang downwards. Lying upon and 

 projecting over each woody scale is a soft 

 fibrous scale in the form of a trident, an 



TRUNK AND BARK OF THE SCOTS PINE. 



