branches are slender, and form, at maturity, a broad, round-topped head 

 although the young trees have the pyramidal form characteristic of conifers. 

 Canary Island pine stands drought well, and has the peculiarity, possessed by 

 only a few of the conifers, of sprouting from the stump when cut down. 



ALEPPO PINE 



The Aleppo pine (Pinus halepensis) is. a native of the Mediter- 

 ranean region which thrives well on arid situations in California, where 

 it is particularly adaptable for seaside planting. It is a tree of rapid 

 growth and spreading habit, the younger branches often assuming a peculiar 

 twisted appearance. The needles are short, grayish in color, and occur in 

 tufts on the ends of the branchlets. The tree reaches a height of about sixty 

 feet and has an open appearance which does not lead to its choice as an orna- 

 mental where more attractive foliage trees will flourish. Its chief merit is its 

 ability to flourish under adverse soil and atmospheric conditions. 



SPRUCES 



The spruces (Picea) are often confused with the firs (Abies), from which 

 they can easily be distinguished by their needles, which are borne on short 

 leaf stalks instead of directly on the branches, as in the case with firs. The 

 little stalks that remain after the needles fall give the branches a rough ap- 

 pearance. The cones are pendent instead of erect and do not lose their scales 

 as do those of the firs. * '. 



The spruces are naturally tall trees of symmetrical habit, with spreading 

 whorled branches densely clothed with sharp-pointed, four-sided needles. 

 There are at least eighteen species found in the northern hemisphere, nearly 

 all of them being under cultivation. Spruce is extensively planted as a forest 

 tree by European foresters to serve as a nurse for the young oaks or elms that 

 are planted beneath its dense foliage. 



The spruces in the Vosges Mountains of Europe produce a resin which 

 is of considerable value. It oozes from cracks in the bark of the trees and when 

 treated forms the medicinal Burgundy pitch. The generic term Picea was 

 derived from the Latin word meaning pitch, and it was the spruce that pro- 

 vided the pix liquida, the boiling liquid pitch that was employed for purposes 

 of torture in the days of the early Roman Empire. 



(39) 



