ARBOR-VITAE; NORTHERN WHITE CEDAR (Thuja occidentalis)

Distinguishing characters:  The branchlets are extremely flat and
    fan-like, Fig. 13, and have an agreeable aromatic odor when
    bruised.  The tree is an evergreen with a narrow conical form.

[Illustration:  FIG. 13.—­Twig of the Arbor-vitae.]

Leaf:  Leaves of two kinds, one scale-like and flat, the other keeled,
    all tightly pressed to the twig (see Fig. 13).

Form and size:  A close, conical head with dense foliage near the base. 
    Usually a small tree, but in some parts of the northeastern States
    it grows to medium size with a diameter of two feet.

Range:  Northern part of North America.

Soil and location:  Inhabits low, swampy lands; in the State of Maine
    often forming thick forests.

Enemies:  Very seldom affected by insects.

Value for planting:  Is hardy in New England, where it is especially used
    for hedges.  It is also frequently used as a specimen tree on the
    lawn.

Commercial value:  The wood is durable for posts, ties, and shingles.  The
    bark contains considerable tannin and the juices from the tree have
    a medicinal value.

Other characters:  The fruit is a cone about 1/2 inch long.

Other common names:  Arbor-vitae is sometimes called white cedar and
    cedar.

Comparisons:  The arbor-vitae is apt to be confused with the true white
    cedar (Chamaecyparis thyoides) but the leaves of the latter are
    sharp-pointed and not flattened or fan-shaped.

CHAPTER II

HOW TO IDENTIFY TREES—­(Continued)

GROUP IV.  THE LARCH AND CYPRESS

How to tell them from other trees:  In summer the larch and cypress may
    easily be told from other trees by their leaves.  These are
    needle-shaped and arranged in clusters with numerous leaves to each
    cluster in the case of the larch, and feathery and flat in the case
    of the cypress.  In winter, when their leaves have dropped off, the
    trees can be told by their cones, which adhere to the branches.

There are nine recognized species of larch and two of bald cypress.  The larch is characteristically a northern tree, growing in the northern and mountainous regions of the northern hemisphere from the Arctic circle to Pennsylvania in the New World, and in Central Europe, Asia, and Japan in the Old World.  It forms large forests in the Alps of Switzerland and France.

    The European larch and not the American is the principal species
    considered here, because it is being planted extensively in this
    country and in most respects is preferable to the American species.