372 XKW ENGLAND TREES IX "WIXTER. 



HEMLOCK 



Hemlock Spruce. 

 Tsuga canadensis (,L.) Carr. 



HABIT — A larg-e tree 50-SO ft. in height with a trunk diameter of 

 2-4 ft.; branches' hnng-. ylencler, horizontal or drooping- at base, ascend- 

 ing- above, forming a broad-based pyramidal head with fine feathery 

 spray griving- a delicate airy appearance to the tree. Tlie apex is plume- 

 like and ge^iierally bent to one side indicating-, so -^voodsmen claim, the 

 direotii:in of prevailing winds. 



BARK — 1-ieddish to grayish-brown, with shallow broad connecting 

 ridg'es somewhat sualy on the surface. 



TWIGS — Slender, yellowish-brown, more or less downy, branchlets 

 generally not opposite and arising at less than a right angle. Phoio- 

 graph of twig is about ^3 natural size. 



LEAA^ES — Scattered but generally twisting so as to appear 2-ranked, 

 dark, sliglnly yellowisli-green al.n.ive. pale green below with grayish 

 lines of minute dots on either side of midrib, flattened generally blunt 

 at the apex, about 1^ inch long witli a distinct sliort stalk, borne upon 

 a reddish-bro^vn decurrent projection "f tlie bark \vhich is left as a 

 raised scar at the fall of the leaf. MICROSCOPIC SECTION— showing 

 a single fibro-vascular bundle and a large resin-duct filling- the space 

 between the bundle and the epidermis. 



TH ns — Small, about 2nim. long. o\"ate, reddisli-brown, not resinous- 

 coated. 



FRUIT — Small, stalked, pendant cones, rii>ening the first season, and 

 generally persistent tlinuigh winler, about ■"■4. inch long. 



rO">fPARIS<>XS — In its fiat ten Oil. apiiarently 2 -ranked leaves the 

 HemloL'k roscm Ltles l he Balsam l'"'ir, Ijut aside f i-iun tlie di fference in 

 habit and bark, the leaves of tlie Hemlock are shorter, distinctly 

 stalked and lea^'e projecting scars "when they fall off. From the 

 Spruces it is distinguished by its distinctly flattened and stalked leaves 

 and flattened spray. 



niSTRIBl TIOA" — C'dd soils, borders of swamps, deep woods, ravines, 

 mountain slopes, and ;iIsm ouliivaled as an ornamental tree. Nova 

 Scotia. New Brunswirk, ihrMugh Quebec and Ontario; soutli to Delaware 

 and along the mountains to (iierirgia and Alabama, ascending to an 

 altitude of L'UdO feet in the Adii'ondaoks; west to INIichigan and Minne- 

 sota. 



IN NEW ENGLAND — Maine — abundant, generally distributed in the 

 southern and central ]ji iriiims. becoi-ning rare north\vard. disai;ip earing 

 entirely in most of Aroostook county and the northern Penobscot region; 

 New Hami'shire — abundant, from the sea to a height of 2.000 feet in the 

 "V^'hite Mountains, disapiiearing in ujiper Coos cotmty; ^'ermcmt — common 

 especially in mountain forests; Massachusetts and Rhode Island — 

 compiciu. 



IX CONNECTICUT — Usually freiiuent but rather local in its distribu- 

 tion. 



AAOOn — Diglit, soft, not strong, brittle, coarse-grained, difficult to 

 ■n'ork. liable to wind-shake and splinter, not durable when exposed to 

 the air, light brown tinged with red, with thin somewhat darker 

 sapwood; largely mantifactured into coarse lumber, employed for the 

 outside finish of buildings. The astringent inner bark furnishes the 

 largest part of the material used in the northeastern states and Canada 

 in tanning leather. Oil of Hemlock is distilled from the young 

 branches. 



