( 60 ) 



Section 2 



Section 1 of the Spruces is the large and for the most part 

 implanted area directly west of Section 1 (Map p. 57). Begin- 

 ning at the northeast corner near the fountain we find a group of 

 small trees. They are 



Picea Omorika, the Serbian Spruce 



There is a group of four taller trees of this kind on the other 

 side of the road. They stand at the foot of the right hand drive 

 leading up to the Museum and on its eastern side. It might be 

 well to step over there to see these larger trees also. 



This is regarded as one of the best spruces for ornamental 

 planting in the northeastern states. It assumes under cultivation 

 a narrow pyramidal habit when young and is very hardy. It may 

 be used as far north as New England and southern Ontario. It 

 is, however, slow of growth. Furthermore, it thrives on lime- 

 stone soil, which is a departure from the general rule among 

 conifers. Moreover, it seems to endure a hot dry soil and impure 

 atmosphere. 



The Serbian Spruce has a very restricted natural range. It is 

 found only in the valleys of the river Drina in southeastern 

 Europe, where it occurs at elevations of 2,000 to 4,000 feet. It 

 may attain a height of 100 feet there. 



In the case of the pines, we found such very distinctive features 

 as a certain number of needles in a sheath. In the spruces, how- 

 ever, no such simple distinctions occur. To identify them we 

 must carry clear-cut impressions of the foliage and it is only by 

 repeated comparisons that we can hope ultimately to be able to 

 separate these trees. The Serbian Spruce, though it may not 

 appear so at first, is one of the most distinctive. Its needles are 

 flat and do not project from all sides of the twig but are arranged 

 more or less in a horizontal plane and point forward. Further- 

 more, the branches are quite short in proportion to the height of 

 the trees, thus giving a spire-like habit. The lower branches tend 

 to curve up at their tips in older trees, and the small branchlets 

 are hairy. 



