"The pretty little cones of the hemlock, which grow very thickly on the
tree, have a crimson tinge at first, and turn to a light brown. They are
found hanging on the ends of the small branches, and they fall during
the autumn and winter. This tree is a native of the coldest parts of
North America, where it is found in whole forests, and it flourishes on
granite rocks on the sides of hills exposed to the most violent storms.
The wood is firm and contains very little resin; it is much used for
building-purposes. A great quantity of tannin is obtained from the
bark; and when mixed with that of the oak, it is valuable for
preparing leather.
"We have taken the prettiest of the spruces first," continued Miss
Harson, "and now we must see what are the differences between them. 'The
two species of American spruce, the black and the white--or, as they are
more commonly called, the double and the single--are distinguished from
the fir and the hemlock in every stage of growth by the roughness of the
bark on their branches, produced by little ridges running down from the
base of each leaf, and by the disposition of the leaves, which are
arranged in spirals equally on every side of the young shoots. The
double is distinguished from the single spruce by the darker color of
the foliage--whence its name of black spruce--by the greater thickness,
in proportion to the length, of the cones, and by the looseness of its
scales, which are jagged, or toothed, on the edge.
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