THE SPRUCES 247 



ant and bright red, more showy than is ordinary in the pine 

 family. Brown cones one to three inches long with thin 

 miarmed scales, discharge their wdnged seeds in early 

 autumn, but cling to the branches until the following 

 summer. 



The wood of red pine is pale red, light in weight, closer 

 grained with yellowish or nearly white sap-wood. Logs a 

 hundred feet and more in length used to be shipped out of 

 Canadian woods to England. Singularly free from large 

 knots and other blemishes, they made huge spars and 

 masts of vessels, as well as piles for dockyards, bridges, 

 etc. Other woods have proved more durable, and the 

 largest red pine timber has been harvested. So its im- 

 portance in the lumber trade has declined. 



But in cultivation the red pine holds its own for its quick 

 growth, its hardiness, its lusty vigor and its beauty of color 

 contrasts. It grows on sterile ground exposed to the sea, 

 forming groves of great beauty where other pines would 

 languish and die. For shelter belts, inland, it is equally 

 dependable, and as specimen trees in parks and gardens it 

 has few equals. At no season of the year does it lose its 

 fresh look of health. Young trees come readily from seed, 

 and throughout their lives they are unusually free from in- 

 juries by insects and fungi. 



THE SPRUCES 



The distinguishing mark of spruce trees is the woody or 

 horny projection on which the leaf is set. Look at the 

 twigs of a tree which you think may be a fir or a spruce. 

 Wherever the leaves have fallen, the spruce twig is rough- 



