The needles are flat and short, hardly one inch in length; they are grooved along the top and the ends are decidedly blunt; in color they are dark bluish-green on the upper side and silvery-white underneath. The bark is gray, and you will find little gummy blisters on the tree-trunk. From these the healing Canada balsam is obtained. The short cones, often not over two inches in length, the longest seldom more than four inches, stand erect on top of the small branches, and when young are of a purplish color.
From Maine to Minnesota the balsam-fir grows in damp woods and mountain bogs, and you will find it southward along the Alleghany Mountains from Pennsylvania to North Carolina.
Spruce
The spruce, red, black, and white, differs in many respects from the balsam-fir: the needles are sharp-pointed, not blunt, and instead of being flat like the balsam-fir, they are four-sided and cover the branchlet on all sides, causing it to appear rounded or bushy and not flat. The spruce-gum sought by many is found in the seams of the bark, which, unlike the smooth balsam-fir, is scaly and of a brown color. Early spring is the time to look for spruce-gum. Spruce is a soft wood, splits readily and is good for the frames and ribs of boats, also for paddles and oars, and the bark makes a covering for temporary shelters.
Hemlock
This tree is good for thatching a lean-to when balsam-fir is not to be found, and its bark can be used in the way of shingles.
The cones are small and hang down from the branches; they do not stand up alert like those of the balsam-fir, nor are they purple in color, being rather of a bright red-brown, and when very young, tan color. The wood is not easy to split—don't try it, or your hatchet will suffer in consequence and the pieces will be twisted as a usual thing. The southern variety, however, often splits straight.