' It is a
well-proportioned tree, but stiff-looking, and the dark foliage, which
never seems to change, gives it a gloomy aspect. The leaves are closely
arranged in spiral lines. The black spruce is never a very large tree,
but the wood is light, elastic and durable, and is valuable in
shipbuilding, for making ladders and for shingles. The young shoots are
much in demand for making spruce-beer. The white spruce is more slender
and tapering, and the bark and leaves are lighter. The root is very
tough, and the Canadian Indians make threads from the fibres, with which
they sew together the birch-bark for their canoes. The wood is as
valuable as that of the black spruce."
"Does the Norway spruce come from Norway?" asked Clara.
"Yes; that is its native land, where it presents its most grand and
beautiful appearance. There it 'rivals the palm in stature, and even
attains the height of one hundred and eighty feet. Its handsome branches
spread out on every side and clothe the trunk to its base, while the
summit of the tree ends in an arrow-like point. In very old trees the
branches droop at the extremities, and not only rest upon the ground,
but actually take root in it and grow. Thus a number of young trees are
often seen clustering around the trunk of an old one.'"
"Why, that's like the banyan tree," said Malcolm.
"Only there is a difference in the manner of growth, for the branches of
the banyan are some distance from the ground and send forth rootlets
without touching it.
Pages:
205
206
207
208
209
210
211
212
213
214
215
216
217
218
219
220
221
222
223
224
225
226
227
228
229