50 



poses is well recognized. Open grown trees in Iowa are very 

 symmetrical. The light bluish berries add a feature of att- 

 ractiveness. The trees stand pruning and trimming well but 

 not so well as the arborvitae or white cedar. 



Trees 1 foot in height or under should be used for wind- 

 break, shelterbelt or woodlot planting. Generally trees 2 to 3 

 feet in height are preferable for lawn planting. 



One of the greatest disadvantages of planting this tree in 

 Iowa comes through the development of the ' ' cedar-apple ' ' fun- 

 gus when in close proximity to apple trees. For this reason the 

 red cedar should not be placed near the orchard. 



BLACK HILLS SPRUCE (WHITE SPRUCE) (Picea canadevsis) 



The Tree\ The Black Hills spruce is a variety of the eastern 

 white spruce which has been introduced from the Dakota re- 

 gion. When grown in the prairie region it is small in size, of 

 pyramidal form, and has a well developed root system. Altho 

 in its native habitat it is generally found on moist situations, 

 it has been found to be very drought resistant, and, for this 

 reason, is a valuable tree for planting, especially in north- 

 western Iowa. It is a tree which resists to a marked degree the 

 drying effects of the winter winds. In planting, it is quite 

 easy to handle because of the compactness of its root system. 



The Wood'. The wood is soft, fine grained, light, and 

 not strong nor durable. The timber makes a satisfactory 

 lumber of a poorer grade. It is desirable for box boards, crat- 

 ing material and for paper pulp. The trees can be utilized for 

 fence posts after being treated with a preservative but should 

 not be planted for this purpose alone. 



Planting: In localities to which it is adapted, the Norway 

 spruce is to be preferred for windbreak planting to the Black 

 Hills variety. The former is not only a faster grower but also 

 makes a larger tree. In addition, the Norway spruce is pre- 

 ferable for ornamental planting. On dry, exposed, wind swept 

 areas, especially in northwestern Iowa, the Black Hills spruce 

 is a tree of considerable importance. Because of its slowness 

 in growth, windbreaks of this species should be reinforced, at 

 the start at least, with a row or two of some fast growing tree 

 such as the cottonwood. The spruce will endure the shade of 

 the cottonwoods and after reaching a fair size the cotton- 

 woods, or a part of them, may be removed to permit the full 

 development of the spruce. This tree may also be planted 

 along with the western yellow , Austrian, Scotch or jack pines. 

 In such combinations the shade enduring spruce should make 

 up the interior rows and the intolerant pines the outside rows. 



This spruce has but little value for commercial plantations, 

 since other hardy species are available which are much faster 



