Tie Larches. The Tamarack. or American Larch. Latid: ,-1»icticamt, is a slender tree with light branches which soon become scraggy. It spreads in cold swamps in the northern states and Canada. Its leaves are soft and needle-shaped, crowded in tufts or bundles on stubby branchlets. except on the terminal shoots. where they are evenly distributed. This tree sheds its leaves in the fall. The cones are small and erect when mature. The timber of the Tamarack is resinous. and very durable under water. The European Larches are more symmetrical and beautiful than ours. They are cultivated in America both for their timber and as ornamental trees. The Bald Cypress. Ta.eadiir»? (listicham, is the only member Of its genus. It is a large forest tree which grows in swamps from Delaware to Texas. It has a central shaft and spreading branches. Its delicate twigs bear the linear two-ranked leaves which are deciduous. The cones are small, globose, and hard-scaled. The roots have a way of humping out of the swampy thus forming the angled cypress which act as braces, helping the tree to maintain its position in the unstable soil.
They are believed by some authorities to assist in the feeding and breath ing processes of the tree.
The White Cedar of the South, (_'rrprcssus thyo;(les. is fill(' tree of medium size \Illicit grows in swamps and along the sea shore front =Massachusetts to Mississippi. The leaves are small. evelyreen, awl shaped, and borne rankedon flattened twigs. The wood has wonderful lightness and durability under water. It is made into posts, shingles, and buckets.
The .,rbor-Vita', Thirjo occident oils, also known as White Cedar. is a slenderly conical tree of medium or small size. It has awl-shaped four-ranked leaves, borne on flat twigs much like those of the south ern white cedar. The winged seeds are borne in small papery cones made of very few thin scales. The Arbor-Vita,‘ forms dense forests in cold wet soil from Nova Scotia west to Minnesota and south along the Alleghenies as far as North Caro lina. It is much planted as an ornamental tree, being a favorite for hedges in this country and in Europe. It lends itself to formal gardening, as it endures trimming into any shape.
The ATs. The genus Jii niperus differs from related genera chiefly in having the fleshy scales of the cone unite as they ripen to Conn a juicy berry.
The common Juniper, Jim/pc/its commanis, is a shrub or small tree with leaves in whorls of three. The leaves are sharp-pointed, boat-shaped, and have white linings in the grneye(1 upper surfaces. The berry, whioli is large and dark Idue, is used to give liav(Hr to gin.
The lied Cedar. or Savin, jumi )ents riryinimia, is usually a small tree, narrow and pyramidal in form. its leaves are close and scale-like, or spreading and needle-like. trees have more leaves of the latter class. The berry of this tree is small with a pale blue bloom upon it. The heart wood is red and very aromatic. It is largely used in the manufacture of lead pencils. The tree gl'OWS sparsely in sterile soil, wet or dry, from Ntiva Scotia to Florida. and west to Kansas.
The American or Trailing Yew, now mina!', also kla n as the Ground IIemlock. is a sprawling shrub. lts leaves are narrow and two-ranked like the hemlock, but larger and dark green on both sides. Instead of a cone, the Yew bears a fleshy red cup ill ‘v hose cavity lie the few seeds. This tree grows from Newfoundland to :Minnesota and Iowa, and down the Alle!rhe lilies as far as Virginia. The Yew of Europe, famous iii song and story. ..1•rows to be a great tree. It is often kept dwarf in formal hedges.
A strange and anomalous member of the gymnosperms is the Gingko, or Maidenhair Tree. of China and Japan. which is planted in American parks and gardens as an tree. Its leaves are broad with one deep Harrow cleft somewhere in the margin. The venation is like no other tree leaf, hut strongly resembles that seen in the leaf of the maidenhair fern. The leaves are borne in fascicles like those of the larch. They are nut evergreen. The wood is destitute of resin.
The fruit of the Gingko is a drupe much like the plum in appearance. Its flesh is inedible, but in Japan the lint within is considered a great delicacy. being served as an appetizer at banquets, like salted almonds. The Gingko tree was introduced into this country by Alex ander Hamilton in 1784. It grows slowly and attains it large size. It is considered by bota nists to be a remnant of a line of plants which had ancestors in common with the ferns and the comien-:.