PINE FAMILY 
The cones of the Red Spruce are large and fall during the 
first winter. Those of the Black Spruce are persistent for 
many years. Resinous exudations both of Red and Black 
Spruce are used as chewing gums; and the branches of both 
are used in the domestic manufacture of beer. 
Black Spruce is a tree of the far north existing but preca- 
riously south of the northern border of the United States, 
while the Red Spruce is an Appalachian tree attaining its 
greatest dimensions in northern New Hampshire and Penn- 
sylvania. 
BLACK SPRUCE. 
Phea maridna, Picea nigra. 
An evergreen conical tree, maximum height one hundred feet, 
ordinary height fifty to eighty ; at the extreme north it dwarfs to a 
shrub. Branches slender, usually pendulous with upward curve 
forming an open and irregular head. Prefers a hilly and mountain- 
ous region with an altitude of 1,200 to 2,000 feet, but is also found 
in low swampy valleys. Resinous. Roots thick, wide spreading 
near the surface, rootlets long, flexible, tough. Ranges from New- 
foundland to Hudson Bay and the Mackenzie River ; southward in 
Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota. 
Bark.—Covered with thin, appressed, grayish brown scales. 
Branchlets at first pale green, pubescent, later they become cinna- 
mon brown, finally dark brown. Bark has no commercial value. 
Wood.—Pale, often with reddish tinge, sapwood pure white ; light, 
soft, weak. Used for wood pulp and house building, sounding- 
boards for pianos; fucl value slight. Sp. gr., 0.5272; weight of cu. 
ft., 32.86 lbs. 
Winter Buds.—Branch buds usually three, light reddish-brown, 
ovate, one-eighth of an inch long. 
Leaves. —Spirally disposed, thickly set and spreading in all direc- 
tions ; jointed at the base to short, persistent, pubescent sterigmata 
on which they are sessile ; falling away in drying, the bare twigs 
appear covered with low truncate projections. Linear, one-fourth 
to three-fourths of an inch long, four-sided; ribbed above and 
below, abruptly contracted at apex into a callous tip, slightly in- 
curved above the middle. Pale blue green at first, dark bluish- 
green at maturity, hoary on lower surface, lustrous or the upper. 
Persistent for several years. 
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