Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1890-06-24
NEW ENGLAND coslflRs.
TIE Msny Varieties ef Bs.a,ifsi and Es.
seedissiy us~fai rresa

The Mssy vssisties ef Ds.atifai and Ia
ss~siissiy ussfai rres@
The conifers, or cone bcaring trees.
ara divided into three families; Tho
pines, the expresses and the yews. OF
the pines. the most common are the
white pine. the yellow or pitch pine and
the rel pine. The-s can bs readily dis
tinguished from each other by noticing
that the whito pine has its leave. In clus-
ters of five. the yellow In clus.srs Of
thrc. and the rel Ia clusters of two.
The white pines form symmetrical and
graceful trees. to which the yellow. In
this latitude. with it, -craggy branches
aud yellOwish green foliage. u am un.
pleasant and striking contrast. The
cones % thc-e tree. do not ripsn till tho
year after blo~-oming. and this Is dis.
tinguishing feature between thess true
pines AMI the other members ~ the pine
family-tho spruccs. hrs and larches.
The .puices have their leaves four sided,
and arranged around the stem, instead
of bcing In clusters. as in the pincs. The
conc. are very graceful. being suspended
near the end of the branches, aud form
Ing pleasing contrast "a the green of
the foliage.
The Norway spruce, though a native
of Europe. u ~ common here A. Ia de-
serve place among our Sew England
tre,s. and from the time % IT. bright
rel blossoms In the spring. during the
growth 10 It, cones. which are purple az
first. but change to rich brown. till
blos-om. come again. forms a most at
Inactive sight. The hemlock, or hemlock
spruce. ha. small ooncs; the leaves, In.
stead ~ being arranged around the stems,
spr,ai In two directions. and are bright
green above. with q silvery white be-
meath. This grows Ia h. a large tree,
bat b. often cut hack aud used a. an or
namental shrub. and. cared Tor In this
way. l. one of the most graceful of
,pruc-.. The fir. are distinguished from
th. sprles-s In that they have their cones
erect on the upper sidc of the branches,
instead - Isndulous The only repre-.
sentative In New England u the balSam
iir. which isquile common among the
mountains.
The last memlcr of the pine family u
the larrh The larch 3. distinguished
from all other conifers by it, shedding
it, leave. in the fall. and Il also marked
10y the bright rr,l flower. which u hears
In the early spring The only native
larch l. the American hrch or tama-
rack. bat the EuroI-an larch !. found
herr quite extensively. AMI 1. a hand.
-pmcr and more graceful tree than the
native variety.
The cypr,ss family includes the arlor
ut.,. the cypress aud the juniper The
arl.or yitss 1. readily distinguished by
th. apprrs..,l. scale like leaves. arranged
Ia four row. on the two-clgc'i branch
lets. The American variety u often
called white cedar, bat the name more
properly belongs to variety ~ cypress
closely resembling arbor yitle. but hay'
ing a more slender spray. liner leaves,
AMI .,rOwing thirty to seventy fe.t high.
while the arl,or vit.r ranges FROM twenty
10 iifiy feet.
We have two varieties ~ the Juniper;
one known a. the juniper, and the other
a. r,,l cellar. IlDth have berry Ike
fruit. In color black. covered With
white bloom; the juniper has awl shnp'd
leavc.. arranged In threc,, large fruit,
anil u found quite commonly a. low
shrub The ri cellar has small, scale
like leaves. small fruit. and la the east u
founl a. a shrub. bat In the west reaches
frum ~ Ia ~ feet In height, and fur.
nishs. very durable wool of q reddish
color.
The yrw has it, nut like seed sur.
rounded by disk. cup shap,i around
it, bas.. which become. bright rel and
bcrry like. In the United state. u l.
only found A. struggling bush, hut In
other countries grows b. H. a large trc..
The conifers are th. most useful tres
a. man. They are found In q great yari.
ETY. of attitudes, arr about ten times as
numerous as other tres, and reach a
g.ratheight. They furnish long. straight,
durable timber. which. owing to the rc-'-
inous matter. j. imPcnctrable by water
The Juices give IA turpentine. resin,
pitch. tar and ampblack, and the amt"r
of comm.rrc also was formed from pine
resin. some conifers have medicinal
properties. the bark % certain varieties
Is uss,i for tanning, for making paper.
AMI for stuiiing In upholstery. The In.
ncr bark Of one variety and the seeds %
another are articles - food. The coal
b..ls were formed from the oonifers of
the cartoniferous axe. They form a
most attractive feature in the landscape,
whether found .ingly OF In large mum
bers, and through the drcary winter
month. are reminders of the summer
which l. pas, and a prophecy OF the
summer which IL to come.-Annle VI.
Mitchell in Springfield Homestead