We want roots that are long, have little taper, few branches, and are tough. We do not want short roots that are easy to break. When we have enough roots, we coil them up together, and try to keep them from drying While digging roots, it is often hard to tell a spruce root from those of birch, cottonwood or willow, as they are interwoven under the moss. If they look too much alike to tell them apart, smell or taste them. Spruce is quite different from the others.
Some people get roots from a cutbank where they are hanging down free from dirt.
This is ok, but often the roots are very dry and take a long time to soak and soften. Also, it is hard to remove the bark from them. Old-timers used roots from cutbanks when the land was frozen in spring and fall and they were the only roots available. The time of year roots are harvested determines if the job is easy or hard. Roots dug in spring and fall will be harder to bark, but certainly not impossible.