There are at least four varieties of the tree from which this timber is produced : - The white spruce (Abies alba), which nourishes in the colder parts of North America; the black spruce (Abies nigra), and the Wenlock spruce (Abies Canadensis), found chiefly in Lower Canada; and the red spruce (Abies rubra), imported from Nova Scotia.

The red spruce is sometimes known as "Newfoundland red pine."


The timber greatly resembles the spruce from the Baltic, having the same characteristic glassy knots. The wood of the black and white varieties is the same in appearance - the difference of colour being only in the bark of the tree; the black produces the largest and best timber.


American spruce is inferior to that from Norway - it is not so resinous or so heavy - is tougher, warps and twists very much, and soon decays.

The Canadian spruce is better than that from New Brunswick.


This timber is used for the same purposes as Baltic spruce.