THE HEMLOCK, FIR, AND LARCH. 279 



foreshortened branchlets of the common fir generally 



appear flattened, Fraser's fir shows a considerable 



thickness of 



needles on 



the npper ^ ^^i^ _ ^ 



side : and, on 



' ' A, Spruce ; B, Fraser's Balsam Fir ; C, Balsam Fir. 



the contrary, 



the spruces show the greater thickness on the under 



side. My little diagrams will make my meaning 



plain. 



The cone is oblong, and from one to two inches 

 long, the leaflets (bracts) having a short-pointed 

 upper termination conspicuously projecting and re- 

 flexed. The general color of a young Fraser's fir 

 is deep olive-green with dashes of bluish sage-white. 



, . The larch, sometimes called hackma- 



Larcn or ' 



Hackmatack. tack or tamarack, is a tall tree 50 to 

 Zarix Americana, iqq fgg^ high, with extremely thin, 

 delicate pale-green foliage. The leaves are decidu- 

 ous, soft, and they grow in bunches along the branch- 

 lets like thick threads about an inch or le^^ 

 The cone is from one half to three quarters of an 

 inch long, reddish brown, and has very few scales. 



The dainty, cool green coloring of the larch in 

 spring, and its extraordinary thin, tall figure, which is 

 delicately penciled against the blue sky on a clear day, 

 make it an exceedingly ornamental tree. The larch 



