RED SPRUCE (Picea rubra Dietr.) 



THE red spruce is found on the summits and 

 upper slopes of our highest mountains where it 

 grows on well-drained but moist and rocky soil, at 

 elevations of 4,000 to 6,700 feet. Here it naturally 

 combined with the southern balsam to form dense 

 forests, which unfortunately have been largely de- 

 stroyed in recent years. 



RED SPEUCH 

 One-balf natural size. 



From Sargent's "Manual of the Trees of North America," 

 by permission of Houghton-Mifflin Company. 



The red spruce is narrowly conical in outline. It 

 Is a medium-sized tree, commonly reaching a height 

 of 60 to 80 feet and a diameter of 1 to 2 feet. The 

 trunk is straight and tapers gradually. The branches 

 are somewhat drooping below, horizontal in the mid- 

 dle, ascending above, and are very persistent even 

 in a dense stand. 



The leaves are linear, four-sided, about one-half 

 inch long, sharp-pointed, dark yellow-green and 

 glossy. They grow from all sides of the twigs. The 

 flowers are of two kinds on the same tree and 

 mature in one season. The cones, or burrs, are 

 oblong, 1 to 2 inches long, with thin reddish brown 

 scales. Unlike those of the balsam, the cones of the 

 spruce hang down and soon after the seeds are scat- 

 tered they fall without breaking apart. 



The wood is light and moderately soft but strong 

 and elastic. It is in great demand for special con- 

 struction purposes and newspaper pulp. Its com- 

 bined elasticity and strength fit it admirably for use 

 in making musical instruments and airplanes. 



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