20 TREES OF NEW ENGLAND. 



obtuse ; base obtuse ; leafstalk slender, short but distinct, 

 resting on a slightly projecting leaf -cushion. 



Inflorescence. Sterile flowers from the axils of the preced- 

 ing year's leaves, consisting of globose clusters of stamens 

 with spurred anthers : fertile catkins at ends of preceding 

 year's branchlets, scales crimson. 



Fruit. Cones, on stout footstalks at ends of branchlets, 

 pointing downward, ripening the first year, light brown, about 

 | of an inch long, ovate-elliptical, pointed ; scales rounded at 

 the edge, entire or obscurely toothed. 



Horticultural Value. Hardy throughout New England ; 

 grows almost anywhere, but prefers a good, light, loamy or 

 gravelly soil on moist slopes ; a very effective tree single or in 

 groups, useful in shady places, and a favorite hedge plant ; 

 not affected by rust or insect enemies ; in open ground retains 

 its lower branches for many years. About twenty horticul- 

 tural forms, with variations in foliage, of columnar, densely 

 globular, or weeping habit, are offered for sale in nurseries. 



PLATE IX. TSUGA CANADENSIS. 



1. Branch with flower-buds. 6. Ovuliferous scale with ovule, 



2. Branch with sterile flowers. inner side. 



3. Sterile flowers. 7. Fruiting branch. 



4. Spurred anther. 8. Cover-scales with seeds. 



5. Branch with fertile flowers. 9. Leaf. 



10. Cross-section of leaf. 



Abies balsamea, Mill. 

 FIR BALSAM. BALSAM. FIR. 



Habitat and Range. Rich, damp, cool woods, deep swamps, 

 mountain slopes. 



Labrador, Newfoundland, and Nova Scotia, northwest to the 

 Great Bear Lake region. 



Maine, very generally distributed, ordinarily associated 

 with white pine, black spruce, red spruce, and a few decidu- 

 ous trees, growing at an altitude of 4500 feet upon Katahdin; 

 New Hampshire, common in upper Coos county and in the 

 White mountains, where it climbs up to the alpine area ; in 



