Other interesting things to know are the means by which trees support themselves upright, even in severe storms; how they support the weight of heavy branches; and how the various species differ in the form, color, texture of their bark. Then the flowers and fruits. Few people know that the early spring awakening of the silver maple is marked by the appearance of its flowers weeks before the leaves come out, or that pines and oaks have flowers at all. And so with the fruits: willows produce catkins; chestnuts, burs; elms, samaras; spruce, cones.
And then one who is fond of trees will not be satisfied until he can recognize and name at least the commoner kinds. This is field work for many seasons, for the variations as well as the fixed characters must be observed, and there are at least a hundred species to be found in New Jersey. The student will soon want a handbook like Collins and Preston's "Key to Trees," but without that he will distinguish the two great groups--evergreen and deciduous. The evergreens are also called conifers because the fruit of most of them is a cone. Almost all are ornamental but none is suitable for the street. Their wood is commonly called soft, though that of many species is quite hard, and forms the great bulk of coarse lumber used for building, etc.
Deciduous trees are so called because their leaves fall at the beginning of winter. There are many more kinds or species of these than of evergreens and their forms and characters are more varied. A few have recognized values as shade trees; many more are interesting or attractive in the park or on the lawn; others are never found outside the forest. By way of contrast with that of the conifers, the wood of deciduous trees is called hard, though many kinds are quite soft, and the trees themselves hardwoods. Hardwood lumber is often very beautiful, and is used for many purposes besides furniture, but the world could better get along without it than without soft woods.
One is attracted to a noble oak, a graceful hemlock, a beautifully colored maple, and wants to live with it and its kind. This desire deserves to be satisfied, and can be satisfied by encouraging the planting of trees where they will reduce the glare and heat of city streets; on lawns and in parks they are more at home and can be treated so that the beauty of individuals and the values of groups or masses can be brought out. Especially should they find place upon every school ground so that the attention of the children may be constantly drawn to these hungry, thirsty, breakable, burnable, beautiful friends of man.