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The five taller trees in the background whose needles do not 

 project below the branchlets are 



Picea Abies or P. excelsa, Norway Spruce 



This is probably the best-known foreign evergreen that we 

 have. It is very extensively planted in this part of the country 

 and large veteran trees are not uncommon. Their principal dis- 

 tinguishing feature is the pronounced drooping habit of the count- 

 less evergreen branchlets that hang from the rigid boughs. This 

 feature is just barely noticeable in trees before us. The Norway 

 Spruce is one of the best conifers for shelters and windbreaks. 



The Norway Spruce is native to most of the mountainous parts 

 of central and northern Europe, east to the Ural Mountains. 

 Though not wild in Great Britain, it has been cultivated there for 

 four centuries. On the continent it attains a height of 100 and 

 sometimes of 150 feet. Its wood is highly valued and extensively 

 used in many wood-using industries. Burgundy pitch is the puri- 

 fied resin extracted from these trees. It is used in Europe in 

 medicine for plasters and in the composition of varnish. Spruce 

 beer, another by-product, is made from an essence of young 

 shoots and leaves of Norway Spruces. The majority of Christ- 

 mas trees in Europe and some in this country are this species. 



A great many garden forms have been developed from the Nor- 

 way Spruce, some of which we shall see presently. 



We shall now proceed eastward along the south side of this 

 group. The two outer small sickly trees are 



Picea canadensis var. coerulea, the Blue White-Spruce 

 This is a variety of our native White Spruce with extremely 

 glaucous foliage. 



The two tall trees with yellowish and somewhat drooping foliage 

 next to the Norway Spruces are 



Picea Abies var. finedonensis, the Finedon Spruce 

 This variety is strikingly pale yellowish in spring, later becom- 

 ing green. 



The two small dense evergreens in front of these last are 

 Picea Schrenkiana, Schrenk's Spruce 



