PRACTICHL ARBORICULTURE 186 
The cypress is one of the most picturesque trees of the Southern States, as 
well as being of great economic importance. In summer its foliage has the ap- 
pearance of being an evergreen, but it drops its leaves with the advent of colder 
wintry weather, and then its bare outstretched arms, draped with long pendant 
clusters of gray Spanish moss, give it the look of a dead tree with weird aspect, 
while nearly all other trees surrounding are clothed with green. 
Like the pines, hemlock, spruce and firs, it is a coniferous tree; the cones are 
small, and the seed, which is produced in greatest profusion, is quite small. Under 
tavorable conditions most of this seed would germinate and produce trees, al- 
so de pte 
CYPRESS IN LOUISIANA SWAMP 
though in nature by far the greater quantity of seed falls among the grass, in the 
water, or upon hard ground, and perishes. 
It is not being reproduced in forest in sufficient numbers to restore the loss 
from clearing. 
Like the sequoias of California, giant arborvitae or cedar of Washington, and 
the silk cotton tree of Africa, the cypress forms a very broad base, tapering 
rapidly for a few feet, after which the trunk maintains a regular size to great 
height. 
