176 FOREST TREES. 
NATURAL ORDER, CONIFERZ. 
Sub Order, Abietinee. 
ABIES—SPRUCE, FIR. 
Leaves, scattered, short, sometimes two-ranked; 
sterile catkins, scattered or clustered towards the 
ends of the branches; fertile catkins, lateral or ter- 
minal, on branches of the preceding year; scales of 
cones, thin, not thickened at the apex, nor with a 
prickly point; seeds, with a persistent wing. 
Among Coniferous trees, the Spruces rank next to 
the Pines in the usefulness of their timber. Some of 
the species combine lightness, strength and elasticity 
in a greater degree than any of the Pines, and are 
therefore preferred for masts and yards of vessels. 
The largest and loftiest species are found upon the 
northwest coast of America. 
1. Abies alba— White Spruce, Single Spruce. 
Leaves erect, slender, scattered, one-half to three- 
fourths of an inch long; color, light glaucous green ; 
cones, oblong-cylindrical, one to two inches long; 
edges of the scales entre. 
The White Spruce is found in the northern parts 
of the United States. and northward nearly to the 
Arctic Ocean. In favorable situations, its ordinary 
stature does not exceed fifty or sixty feet. It is found 
in the same localities as the Black Spruce, but in 
Canada and the United States is much less common 
than that species. The wood is considered inferior 
