IMPORTANT FOREST SPECIES 403 



Distribution. — Spruce does not extend as far south as does pine, but it reaches 

 much farther north, and its range is far more extensive. It is irregularly distributed; 

 its narrowest zone is southwestward. The region occupied by spruce broadens as 

 you go through Central Europe in a northeasterly direction, from the Maritime Alps, 

 a little below 44°, on the one side, to near the Iceland Sea, not far from Cape North 

 (69°) . In France, there is little spruce west of a line drawn from the Alps to the Vosges; 

 nor in Belgium, Holland, lower North Germany (up to the Vistula River), Denmark, 

 and the British Isles. To the south, Spain, Corsica, Sardinia, Italy (except the Lom- 

 bard Alps and Venetia), Greece, and the greater part of Turkey are all outside the spruce 

 zone. So it is with southern and eastern Russia where Norway spruce does not extend 

 beyond Moscow and Archangel (39° longitude). . . . (The Siberian Picea, which 

 goes farther north, is, as yet, inaccurately delimited). 



Habitat. — In the north (in Norway for example), spruce comes to sea level, but, as 

 regards its upper limit, scarcely reaches higher than 655 feet. ... In the Tyrol 

 (at 46° 45' north latitude), spruce grows up to 6,807 feet; in the Engadine (at 44° 40'), 

 up to 6,926 feet; at Mont Ventoux (44°), up to 5,643 feet. As the upper limit extends, 

 the tree leaves the plains and valley bottoms. . . . The lower limit is about 2,000 

 feet in the Vosges and Jura. Mountains, and 2,600 feet in the Maritime Alps. In 

 France, therefore, spruce is distinctly a mountain species which reaches up to the Alpine 

 region and is characteristic of a higher vegetative zone than is the silver fir. . . . 



Soil. — Any moist soil, no matter what its geological and mineralogical formation, is 

 suitable for spruce, provided it is neither too compact nor too porous. A peaty soil, 

 while not favorable, is not absolutely objectionable. In dry and arid soil spruce can 

 sometimes Uve, but it does not prosper. Under such conditions the foUage is yellow 

 rather than a dark green color (so generally characteristic), the needles short, the cones 

 plentiful but half grown (one-third or one-fourth the usual size). 



Vegetation. — Spruce requires a mean July temperature of at least 10° C. (60° F.), 

 but not more than 18° 75' C. (66° F.); a mean January temperature not below 12° 5' C. 

 (54° 5' F.) (Willkomm). It requires, above all, a moist atmosphere, frequent rainfalls, 

 and heavy dews so that the surface soil may be kept fresh — absolutely necessary for 

 such a shallow-rooted species. 



Timber. — Spruce wood is generally whiter than pine; some spruce from northern 

 Europe, however, is very light red (like Scotch pine) and is indicative of inferior quality. 

 This reddish spruce timber comes from trees grown in marshy soils, chiefly of the Siberian 

 variety. . . . The sapwood has the same value as the heartwood; as a matter of 

 fact, it is scarcely distinguishable. . . . Spruce boards generally have smaller but 

 more numerous knots than pine. In most cases, these branch knots are loose. . . . 

 Density varies according to the growth conditions; for air dried timber the specific 

 gravity varies from 0.337 to 0.597. 



Uses. — Spruce timber is lighter and weaker than pine but serves the same uses. 

 . . . It is soft, spongy, and of inferior quality at lower elevations because of too 

 rapid growth. Near the upper limits of habitat, however, it . . . may be worth 

 from one-quarter to one-fifth more than pine timber. To sum up: it is a first-rate 

 building and manufacturing timber. . . . The straight, clear boles make excellent 

 masts. . . . The regular fiber makes splitting very easy . . . it is prepared 

 for baskets and for shingles . . . and almost exclusively (imder the name of 

 "sounding wood"), for sounding boards of musical instruments — pianos, violins, etc. 

 . . . Match factories also use considerable quantities of spruce wood. Reduced 

 by machinery to a soft paste or pulp it supplies, besides, the raw material for high 

 quality papers and pasteboards. 



Fuel Value. — The fuel value of spruce, as compared with beech, is as 70 is to 100. 



