SPRUCE AM) BALSAM FIR TREES. 7 



seen along the Saguenay River, in southeastern Quebec, Canada, 

 and the second account tells of trees observed in Newfoundland, 

 where the species is abundant. It was technically described and 

 named for the first time as "Abies canadensis Miller" in 1768, 

 although the author of this name previously described the tree with- 

 out naming it in 1731. During the century and a half that white 

 spruce has been known to science no less than 20 different specific and 

 varietal names have been given to various forms of it. 1 Down to 

 1888 botanists knew it chiefly either as "Abies alba Michaux " (pub- 

 lished in 1803) and as "Picea alba Link" (published in 1831), its 

 present generally accepted name, Picea canadensis (based on Abies 

 canadensis Mill.), having been established in 1888. 



DISTINGUISHING CHARACTERISTICS. 



White spruce is only sparingly represented in our Rocky Mountain 

 region, its main range being in northeastern United States and Can- 

 ada. It varies in height, according to situation, from 15 to 75 feet 

 and in diameter from 12 to 20 inches. The largest trees occur in 

 the East, where the height is from 80 to 100 feet or more and the 

 diameter from 24 to 36 inches. Trees 3 or 4 feet in diameter and 

 over 100 feet high are rather rare. The trunk is straight and clear 

 of branches for one-third to two-thirds of its length, with a some- 

 what open, irregular, and widely pyramidal crown, the top of which, 

 especially in old trees, may be rounded or flattened ; very often, how- 

 ever, the crown is sharply pointed. The branches are long and thick, 

 and commonly curve down and then upward. A striking character- 

 istic of the branches is their numerous small, drooping side branchlets. 



Bark of the trunks is thin, rarely over one-half an inch thick, and 

 is early broken into small, thin, pale, ashy-brown scales, the color, 

 however, varying greatly with the density of the stand. 



The dense foliage is characteristic in its light blue-green color, 

 which in some individuals has a distinct whitish tinge. 1 The 

 4-angled leaves (PI. II) grow from all sides of the twigs, and often 

 stand out loosely; but for the most part they appear to grow on the 

 upper sides of the branches, particularly at and near their ends, the 

 lower leaves being bent upward, so that all appear to be massed on 

 the upper side. A cross section of the leaves shows two minute resin 

 ducts close to the border and near the angles of the leaves. Twigs 

 of a season's growth are dark j^ellow-brown, and, as a rule, are 



1 White spruce has been cultivated for ornament for many years both in Europe and in 

 this country. Loudon (Arb. et Frut., IV, 2312, 1838) informs us that Bishop Compton 

 introduced it into England in 1700. Some 10 different garden forms have been developed 

 and are now technically named. They are all distinguished from the species chiefly by 

 their smaller size, shape of the crown, or color and habit of foliage and branches. The 

 best marked garden variety is P. canadensis glauca, which is a handsome form with pale 

 blue-green foliage closely pressed upon the twigs. 



