1 10 Abnormal Growth in Fir and Spruce Trees. [Sess. 



V.— ABNORMAL GROWTH IN FIR AND 

 SPRUOE TREES. 



By Mr STEWART ARCHIBALD, Corresponding Member. 

 {Read March 25, WI4.) 



Among straight-stemmed trees such as Fir and Spruce, many- 

 have the great misfortune to ' lose their heads,' for which 

 squirrels, wind, and snow are the responsible agents. When 

 such a calamity occurs, Nature steps in and tries what she 

 can do to repair the damage. Many of the broken trees 

 are, however, irretrievably ruined, being broken too far down, 

 and the branches that are left having little vigour in them, 

 the broken stumps soon die completely. But if the breakage 

 has taken place nearer the top, and the branches that are 

 left are growing at all vigorously, Nature causes one or more 

 of those in the topmost whorl to curve upwards and assume 

 the function of leader, the top of these branch -leaders 

 ultimately reaching a height almost equal to that of the 

 uninjured trees around. Sometimes a branch-leader turns 

 very sharply up, its line being only about its own diameter 

 out of that of the parent stem. Generally, however, they 

 take a wider sweep, the arc of quadrant formed having a 

 radius of from one to three feet. Last winter I had occasion 

 to handle a great number of these tops when helping to burn 

 the brush in a wood which was being cut near by, pruning 

 out the best tops and branches to be carted for firewood. 

 Among these there is a very good sample of a decapitated 

 spruce. The woodcutters sawed it through just below the 

 topmost whorl of branches, four of which turned upwards 

 to form leaders, having a spread of about six feet. The 

 twigged points of these branches having been cut away, the 

 little remaining bit of the trunk and the curving branches 

 look like the head and horns of some giant beast. 



The chief point of interest is this. When one of these 

 side leaders is cut through in the curve, the growth is seen 

 to be very unequal and one-sided, as shown by the annual 



