with soft, thin, loose, rounded scales, uneven on the
edges. A beautiful, conical, slow-growing, compact tree, reaching the
height of 75 ft.; often cultivated; from the Black Sea. Hardy.

GENUS =95. TSUGA.= (HEMLOCKS.)

Leaves evergreen, scattered, flat, narrowed to a green petiole,
appearing 2-ranked by the direction they take, whitened beneath. Fertile
catkins and cones on the end of last year's branchlets. Cones pendulous,
maturing the first year; scales thin, persistent.

[Illustration: T. Canadensis.]

1. =Tsuga Canadensis=, Carr. (COMMON HEMLOCK.) Leaves short-petioled,
linear, 1/2 in. long, obtuse, dark green above and white beneath; the
young leaves in the spring a very light green. Cones oval, 1/2 to 3/4 in.
long, pendent, of few (20 to 40) scales. A large, very beautiful tree,
50 to 80 ft. high, abundant in rocky woods, and cultivated throughout;
spray light and delicate.

[Illustration: T. Caroliniana.]

2. =Tsuga Caroliniana=, Engelm. (MOUNTAIN-HEMLOCK.) This is similar to
the last; its leaves are larger, glossier, more crowded; its cones are
larger, and have wider and more spreading scales; the tree is smaller,
rarely growing 40 ft. high. Wild, but scarce, in the higher Alleghanies,
south; beginning to be cultivated north, and probably hardy throughout.

[Illustration: T. Sieboldii.]

3. =Tsuga Sieboldii.= (JAPAN HEMLOCK.) Leaves 1/2 to 3/4 in. long, linear,
obtuse to notched at the tip, smooth, thick, dark green above, with two
white lines below. Cones scarcely 1 in. long, elliptical, solitary,
terminal, obtuse, quite persistent; scales pale brown. A beautiful small
tree, 20 to 30 ft. high, with an erect trunk, dark-brown bark, and
numerous, pale, slender branchlets. Introduced from Japan, and probably
hardy throughout.

GENUS =96. ABIES.= (THE FIRS.)

Leaves evergreen, flat, scattered, generally whitened beneath, appearing
somewhat 2-ranked by the directions they take. Fertile catkins and cones
erect on the upper side of the spreading branches. Cones ripening the
first year; their scales thin and smooth, and the bracts generally
exserted; scales and bracts breaking off at maturity and falling away,
leaving the axis on the tree. A great number of species and varieties
have been planted in this country, but few if any besides those here
given do at all well in our dry and hot climate.

* Cones 6 to 8 in. long; leaves blunt at tip. (=A.=)

=A.= Leaves over an inch long