The Trees of Vermont 221 



Balsam Fir 

 Abies balsamea (L.) Mill. 



Characteristics. — Bark pale gray-brown and marked by swollen 

 resin chambers, or red-brown and roughened by small, scaly plates ; 

 sapwood thick, whitish ; heartwood yellow-white to pale brown ; non- 

 porous ; growth rings wide, indistinct ; transition from spring wood to 

 summer wood very gradual; rays inconspicuous, never fusiform and 

 mostly without resin ducts; both resin ducts (vertical) and resin cells 

 absent ; tracheids without spirals. 



Qualities. — Very light in weight, 23 pounds per cubic foot, 

 seasoned ; very soft ; weak ; shrinkage moderate ; warps little ; coarse- 

 grained ; perishable in contact with the soil ; works easily ; splits 

 readily. 



Uses. — Cut, sold and used with spruce and pine, boxes, crates, 

 packing cases, sheathing, etc. 



Alitor Vitae. Wliite Cedar 

 Thuja occidentalis L. 



Characteristics. — Bark thin, light red-brown, slightly furrowed 

 or deciduous in ragged strips ; sapwood thin, whitish ; heartwood pale 

 yellow-brown ; wood with mild odor like cedar oil ; non-porous ; growth 

 rings narrow to wide, rather irregular and wavy, fairly distinct by the 

 narrow, but denser summer wood ; transition from spring wood to 

 summer wood more or less abrupt ;. rays very faint, microscopic; resin 

 ducts abseiTt and resin cells few and usually widely scattering ; tracheids 

 wholly without spirals. 



Qualities. — Very light in weight, 19 pounds per cubic foot, 

 seasoned ; very soft ; very weak ; shrinks and checks but little ; warps 

 little ; rather coarse-grained ; brittle ; very durable in contact with the 

 soil ; easily worked ; splits easily, but nails well. 



Uses. — Posts, railroad ties, shingles, etc. 



