A few trees of jack pine, _Pinus banksiana_ Lamb., are found in Lake County. It is a small northern tree with leaves about an inch long, borne in 2's, with cones about 2 inches long. It is planted for reforestation in the State. The Scots pine, _Pinus sylvestris_ L., has been freely planted in Illinois and may be known by its orange-brown bark and its twisted leaves 2 to 3 inches long, arranged in 2's. It has become naturalized on the sand dunes in Lake County. The Norway spruce, _Picea abies_ Karst., has been freely planted throughout the State. It forms a dense conical spire-topped crown and reaches a height of 50 to 70 feet. The leaves are needle-shaped, about an inch long, dark green, and persist for about 5 years. The pendulous cones are from 3 to 6 inches long. It is desirable for ornamental planting. +BALD CYPRESS+ _Taxodium distichum_ Richard [Illustration: CYPRESS Natural size.] THE bald cypress is a tree found exclusively in deep swamps and was found in southern Illinois from the Mississippi bottoms to Shawneetown. Its straight trunk with numerous ascending branches, and narrow conical outline makes the tree one of considerable beauty. In old age, the tree generally has a broad fluted or buttressed base, a smooth slowly tapering trunk and a broad, open, flat top of a few heavy branches and numerous small branchlets. The original-growth timber attained heights of 80 to 130 feet and diameters of 5 to 10 feet. The _bark_ is silvery to cinnamon-red and finely divided by numerous longitudinal fissures. The _leaves_ are about 1/2 to 3/4 of an inch in length, arranged in feather-like fashion along two sides of small branchlets, which fall in the autumn with the leaves still attached. The _fruit_ is a rounded cone, or "ball", about one inch in diameter, consisting of thick irregular scales. The _wood_ is light, soft, easily worked, varies in color from light to dark brown, and is particularly durable in contact with the soil. Hence it is in demand for exterior trim of buildings, greenhouse planking, boat and shipbuilding, shingles, posts, poles and crossties. The tamarack, or American larch, _Larix laricina_ K. Koch, resembles the bald cypress in growing in swamps and in shedding its leaves in autumn. This tree is found in Illinois growing in bogs in Lake and McHenry counties. The leaves are flat, soft, slender, about one inch long and borne in clusters. The cones are only 1/2 to 3/4 inch long. The European larch, _Larix decidua_ Mill., may be distinguished from the native species by having slightly longer leaves and larger cones that are more than an inch long. +RED CEDAR+ _Juniperus virginiana_ L. RED cedar, the most plentiful coniferous tree in the State, is very valuable, growing on a great variety of soils, seeming to thrive on hills where few other trees are found. It is more common in the southern counties. [Illustration: RED CEDAR Natural size.]