260 TREES 



neath, by pale lines on the underside of the flat blunt- 

 pointed blade (See illustration, page 2^6). An abun- 

 dance of pendent cones is borne annually. The wood of 

 hemlocks is comparatively wortliless but the bark is rich in 

 tannin, and so the tree is important in the leather trade. 



The Hemlock 



Tsuga Canadensis, Carr. 



The hemlock lifts its dark green, feathery spray above the 

 sturdy trunk into a splendid broad pyramid. In all rocky 

 uplands from Nova Scotia to Alabama and west to Min- 

 nesota, the drooping lower branches sweep the ground, 

 and the tree is often half buried in snow. But in spring 

 every twig is dancing and waving yellow plumes of new 

 fohage, the picture of cheerfulness as the sunlight sifts 

 through the tree- tops. In May the new blossoms sprinkle 

 all the leafy twigs — the staminate, yellow; the pistillate, 

 pale violet. Looking up from below, one sees a charming 

 iridescent effect when the blossoms add their color to the 

 shimmering silver which lines the various platforms of 

 foliage. The little red-brown cones cling to the twigs all 

 winter, slowly parting their scales to release the winged 

 seeds. Squirrels climb the trees in the fall and cut off 

 these cones to store away for winter use. 



"Peelers" go into the woods in May, when the new 

 growth is well started and the bark will peel readily. They 

 fell and strip hemlock trunks and remove the bark in 

 sheets, which are piled to dry and be measured like cord- 

 wood, and later shipped to the tanneries. The cross- 

 grained coarse wood is left to rot and feed forest fires. 

 Locally, it is useful for the timbers of houses and barns, be- 



