22 The New York State College of Forestry 



in general not a mit, (c) generally deliquescent trunks, (d) wood 

 v.'ith duets or pores. Represented by many genera, widely scat- 

 tered and interspersed with herbaceous forms through twenty- 

 two orders. 



The Conifera£ are all woody, and are mainly inhabitants of 

 temperate, alpine, or boreal regions. Many are important timber 

 trees because of CI) the large stature. (2) excurrent trunks, (3) 

 growth in pure stands, (4) inhabitants of temperate regions 

 where industrial activity attains the greatest impetus, (5) even- 

 grained, soft wood which takes nails and Ls readily worked with 

 tools. See pages 76 to 105 inclusive. 



The Amentiferae are preeminently plants of the temperate 

 regions, are all woody, and include in their number such valuable 

 timber trees as Oak. Chestnut, Beech, and Birch. See pages 106 

 to 199 inclusive. 



The Floriferae is a heterogeneous group with great diversity 

 of form, intersper.sed and intimately connected with herbaceous 

 forms, and with many tropical affinities. Listed here are trees 

 with showy flowers such as Black Locust, Pauloumia, Catdlpa, 

 etc. See pages 200 to 343 inclusive. 



roENTIFICAT.ON 



The identification of plants may be made from drawings or 

 pictures by turning directly to the illustrations. This is especially 

 true where the plant is known to belong to a certain family or 

 genus. The method is cumbersome and open to criticism in that 

 it is unscientific and permits the student to acquire no grasp of 

 the fundamentals underhdng taxonomy. 



The logical approach to the subject of plant identification lies 

 in the use of previously prepared "keys" based upon morpho- 

 logical characters, which permit finally of the determination of 

 .species. Thus one may construct a key for the oaks, the maples, 

 or the ashes, or, in fact, any group of related plants. It is cus- 

 tomary for convenience to assemble keys for family, generic and 

 specific identification into manuals which include all plants of 

 certain groups rejjresented in a given area. The most important 

 manuals covering the higher plants of the northeastern states 

 are, viz. : 



Pteridophytes and Spermctophytes : 



Gray, A. Xew Manual of Botany, 7th Ed., 3908. 

 Britton, N. L. Manual of the Flora of the Xorthem States and 

 Canada, 2d Ed., 1905. 



