76 FAEM FORESTRY 



3 to S feet in diameter. It makes rapid height growth for the 

 first 15 or 20 years, often 20 to 30 inches a year. It will grow 

 on all classes of soils, even dry sand, although it prefers deep, 

 well drained, sandy loam. It is very intolerant of shade. 

 The wood is comparatively soft, light, resinous, and light 

 reddish-brown in color. It is used for general construction, 

 lumber, railroad ties and poles. Two-year-old seedlings can 

 be purchased from nurserymen and planted in the farm 

 nursery for a year or two before being planted, except on very 

 favorable sites where the grass and weeds do not grow high, 

 when the two-year-old seedlings can be used. It should be 

 spaced about 6 by 8 feet, being rather intolerant. It is often 

 mixed with white pine in alternate rows. It is a very hardy 

 tree and free from diseases. It grows well on the sandy 

 soils of the Lake States, in the Prairie region, and on aban- 

 doned lands in New England. Trees planted in this country 

 have usually come from a mountain variety and do not grow 

 to large size. At about 20 years of age they become crooked 

 and yield but little timber. Unless a better variety of seed 

 can be secured some of our native species will prove better 

 in the long run. 



White Spruce (Picea canadensis). — White spruce occurs 

 naturally throughout the northern tier of states to Montana 

 and crosses the continent and reaches the Pacific coast in 

 Alaska. It is a tree of the cold North. It is a tree of medium 

 size, a large tree of the species being 100 feet high and 30 

 inches in diameter. The wood is soft, light, and not very 

 strong. Like other spruces it is used for the manufacture of 

 paper pulp and for lumber and construction purposes. It 

 will grow under a wide range of soil and moisture conditions. 

 It is found on low land along streams and on the sides of 

 ridges and hills. It grows best in moist, well drained, sandy 

 loam soil. It is a very tolerant tree, the side branches remain- 

 ing on the trees many years producing knotty lumber, unless 

 grown in dense stands. Being a native tree and adapted to 



