Outdoor Visits  by Edith M. Patch

Some Trees with Cones

The leaves were narrow and short. Some were a little longer than an inch. Some were about half an inch long. They were green on top and they had two white lines on the under side.

There were some places in the bark that looked like blisters.

Don broke the bark at one of these places. Some balsam ran out. The balsam was a clear sticky juice and it had a pleasant smell.

Don climbed the tree to look for some cones. He did not find all of any cone. He found only the slender, middle part of each cone. He and Nan took these parts to the farm house to show to their uncle.

Nan said, "They look like little sticks standing on top of the branch. They do not hang down like our pine cones."

"The name of that evergreen tree is Balsam Fir," said Uncle Tom. "You can find the fir cones that stand up on the branches in summer. They are sticky then, when they are fresh and growing.

"Some of the cones on fir trees grow about three inches long. Some are longer and some are shorter."

"Why do they look like pieces of broken cones now?" asked Don.

"The small outer parts drop to the ground in the fall," said his uncle.