87 



the elm, the red ai^d silver leaved maples, the butternut, black walnut, and 

 the thornless locust ; and will no more than keep pace with white, red and 

 Scotch pines. And in fifty years, the Norway spruce, Scotch larch, and 

 white oak will overtake them ; so that they may be classed with the short- 

 lived trees, when compared with the trees above named. 



Nearly all the species are infested with worms. All send up numerous 

 suckers, and at great distances from the tree. At the time the leaves com- 

 mence to grow, the scales of the buds fall to the ground, and there are blown 

 about, and in some of the species, these scales are covered with a tarry, bal- 

 samic substance, which fastens to everything, on which it is pressed ; and 

 whenever the tree stands near the sidewalks and houses, there gummy scales 

 are often carried by the shoes into the house and left fastened upon the 

 floors and carpets. The numerous sterile catkins, after having sent out their 

 polen, floating everywhere on the winds, fall to the ground again covering 

 the walks ; while in summer the fertile catkins give off their clouds of cot- 

 ton, which float for miles from the trees, filling the air, to the great annoy- 

 ance of all. The two foreign species which are found in cultivation, the pyr- 

 amidial Lombardy poplar (P. Dilata) and the white poplar {P. Alba), are 

 equally objectionable to the others, except that in the first of these only trees 

 bearing sterile catkins have been Introduced, and consequently no cottony 

 seeds are' produced. The seed bearing trees ought never to be planted near 

 houses. We dismiss this whole class of trees by stating, that even where 

 rapid growth of trees and shades are desired, the ground had better be plant- 

 ed with other and more valuable trees. 



CONIIER^. {Gone-hearing — FmefarnUy.) 



Trees or shrubs with resinous juice, mostly with awl shaped entire leaves, 

 and monoecious or dioecious flowers in catkins, destitute of calyx or oarolla. 

 Embryo in the axis of the albumen and nearly its length. Wood destitute of 

 ducts, composed chiefly of homoginous large woody fibre, which is marked 

 with circular disks on two sides. 



This great family of trees embraces some that in the economy and advance- 

 ment of the country have played the most important part. Among which are 

 the pines, the firs, the cedars, the cypresses and the larches. All but the cy- 

 press and larch are evergreen, and nearly all the genera and species are in 

 some form used for timber and fuel. We are apt to overlook the chief value 

 of these trees, and their timber in planting forests or shades, because they 

 do not appear to hold out 'sucli great pecuniary advantages, in so short a 

 time as do the deciduous trees. Although they grow as rapidly and their 

 wood is as valuable, yet it takes more years to attain the maximum of wealth 

 to be reaped from a single tree. Other trees are cut when small, so are some 

 of these ; but the best, the pines and the hemlock which are chiefly used for 

 boards and plank, sawed timber and shingles, require large trees grown in 

 shaded situations, so as to be free from knots and cracks, and have good 

 length of stem. Notwithstanding these trees grow as rapidly as other trees. 



