he Scotch Pine.]
The _red pine_ (_Pinus resinosa_) is another tree that has two
needles to each cluster, but these are much longer than those of the
Scotch pine (five to six inches) and are straighter. The bark, which
is reddish in color, also differentiates the red pine from the
Austrian pine. The position of the cones on the red pine, which
point outward and downward at maturity, will also help to
distinguish this tree from the Scotch and the Austrian varieties.
GROUP II. THE SPRUCE AND HEMLOCK
How to tell them from other trees: The spruce and hemlock belong to the
evergreen class and may be told from the other trees by their
_leaves_. The characteristic leaves of the spruce are shown in Fig.
9; those of the hemlock in Fig. 10. These are much shorter than the
needles of the pines but are longer than the leaves of the red cedar
or arbor vitae. They are neither arranged in clusters like those of
the larch, nor in feathery layers like those of the cypress. They
adhere to the tree throughout the year, while the leaves of the
larch and cypress shed in the fall.
The spruces are pyramidal-shaped trees, with tall and tapering
trunks, thickly covered with branches, forming a compact crown. They
are widely distributed throughout the cold and temperate regions of
the northern hemisphere, where they often form thick forests over
extended areas.
There are eighteen recognized species of spruce. The Norway spruce
has been chosen as a type for this group because it is so commonly
planted in the northeastern part of the United States.
The hemlock is represented by seven species, confined to temperate
North America, Japan, and Central and Western China.
[Illustration: FIG. 7.--The Norway Spruce.]
How to tell them from each other: The needles and branches of the spruce
are _coarse_; those of the hemlock are _flat and graceful_. The
individual leaves of the spruce, Fig. 9, are four-sided and green or
blue on the under side, while those of the hemlock, Fig. 10, are
flat and are _marked by two white lines_ on the under side.
THE NORWAY SPRUCE (_Picea excelsa_)
Distinguishing characters: The characteristic appearance of the
full-grown tree is due to the *drooping branchlets* carried on *main
branches which bend upward* (Fig. 7).
Leaf: The leaves are dark green in color and are _arranged spi
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