9 
inch in length and rather less than one-twelfth inch in width; 
they are dark green on the upper side, but quite pale green or 
whitish on the lower surface; they spread like the barbs of a 
feather in one plane; the new ones appear on the twigs in the 
spring and are then bright green, the tips of the twigs nodding; 
_ they persist on the twigs through parts of three seasons, falling 
away in the spring; like other “ evergreen” trees, the hemlock 
spruce is evergreen because it is never bare of leaves, not the same 
leaves, however. The flowers, as in all conebearing trees, are 
sinall, of two kinds, and borne in small, dense clusters, appearing 
in April or May; the clusters of staminate flowers, those contain- 
ing the pollen grains, are found in the axils of the leaves, the 
clusters of pistillate flowers are at the ends of the twigs, and after 
their fertilization by the pollen from the staminate flowers, ripen 
into the cones; these are oblong, nodding, blunt, a little longer 
than the leaves, composed of numerous thin appressed scales, and 
under each scale is another scale which carries the small seeds. 
As observed by MacDougal (see Journal, New York Botanical 
Garden 1: 97) germination of the seeds takes place about the 
middle of May. The little root is provided with a very large 
root-cap which protects its delicate tissues at the tip as it grows 
down through the soil; this little root is at first bent, but soon 
straightens out, carrying the seed, which still contains the minute 
seed-leaves, up a little in the soil; the coat of the seed is soon cast 
away and the usually four seed-leaves expand just at the surface 
of the ground ; the plantlet is then seen to consist of a root, seed- 
leaves, and a little bud immediately above the seed-leaves which 
‘at once begins growing and forms the stem, which, if nothing 
happens to the little plant, develops ultimately into the part of 
the tree above ground. The trees of the Bronx hemlock forest 
Produce seed very unequally in different years, being apparently 
entirely barren at times, thus Dr. MacDougal records that no 
seedlings from seeds produced in 1898 were found, only two 
could be certainly traceable to the crop of 1897, but an enormous 
number were produced from the seeds of 1899. As the plantlet 
STOws, close observations of its root will reveal curious clublike 
thickenings, and these are indispensable to the tree. Microscopic 
€xamination shows that they are composed of the densely matted 
threads of a minute fungus forming a sort of felt on the outside 
of these little projections. The function of these curious struc- 
nuts, Which are known as mycorrhiza, is to absorb food from the 
"4 : and Carry it into the rootlets, from which the tree distributes 
Foughout its stem and leaves. Through this very interesting 
