The cones are very small, about a half inch in length, growing singly from the lower side of the branchlet. Their scales are rounded and thin, light brown in color. The seeds are winged and even when ripe the cones do not spread apart perceptibly. The seeds escape, however, slowly during the winter following their maturity. They are very small, and their wings distribute them a hundred feet or more. The seeds germinate best on leaf mold, but the seedling takes several years to thrust its roots deep into the mineral soil. During that time, growth is very slow. A seedling five years old may not exceed five inches in height; but when its roots have developed, growth is fairly rapid. The distribution of seeds is often facilitated by the activities of red squirrels, and perhaps other small mammals, which climb the trees in winter and tear the cones apart to get at the seeds. Many of the seeds are devoured, but more escape and fly away on the winter winds. Hemlock leaves are narrow and about half an inch long. Examined closely, particularly with a magnifying glass, rows of white dots extend from end to end on the under side. Small as these white points are separately, when seen in the aggregate they change the color of the whole crown of the tree. This is illustrated by looking at a hemlock from a distance--the upper sides of the leaves on the drooping twigs being then visible and the tree’s aspect dark green. Approach the tree, and look up from its base--the under side of the leaves being then visible--and the dark color changes to a light silvery tint. The whiteness is due to the white spots on the leaves. The spots are stomata (mouths), and are parts of the chemical laboratory which carries on the tree’s living processes. All tree leaves have stomata, but all are not arranged in the same way and are not visible alike. Few trees have them as prominent as the hemlocks. Hemlock attains a height from sixty to 100 feet and a diameter from two to four. When it grows in the open, it is one of the handsomest and most symmetrical evergreens of any country. Its dark, dense foliage will permit scarcely any sunlight to filter through. When forest-grown, it loses its lower limbs. In the forester’s language, they are “shaded off,” and long, smooth trunks are developed; but the stubs from which the branches fall remain buried deep inside the smoothest bole, and the saws will find them when the logs are converted into lumber.