The Firs, Proper. 389 



Canada and in swamps and damp soils in the Northern States, ex- 

 tending southward into Virginia, and westward beyond the Missis- 

 sippi. It has a very symmetrical growth, and its regular conic 

 form gives a characteristic aspect to the forests where it occurs. It 

 grows to 50 or GO feet in height, and its wood is coarse and white, 

 but not strong. It is used however for lumber, but should be 

 protected from the weather. This tree grows well under cultivation 

 in a humid soil, and it may be used with success, in wet place, in 

 planting wind-breaks. The "Canada Balsam" of druggists is ob- 

 tained from blisters in the bark of this tree. 



1377. THE B-ALSAM SPRUCE (Abies fubalpina) , much resembling 

 the Northern Balsam Fir, grows in Colorado and northward into 

 British North America, occurring on the highest mountains and 

 quite up to the timbor-lin?. It grows to a tree two feet in diameter 

 and a hundred feet or more in height, in sheltered places, but the 

 wood is soft and poor. This species, in British Columbia, appears 

 to take the place of the A. yrnntli* in the region east of the Coast 

 Range. It extends into the Peace River district, and occurs in cold, 

 damp situations in the country between Lesser Slave Lake and the 

 Athabasca River. The tree often exceeds two feet in diameter, but 

 the wood is said to be almost worthless. 



1378. Abies concolor. This is the "White Balsam," or "White Fir," 

 of South Colorado, Utah, and Arizona, and is found westward in 

 the Sierras and northward to Southern Oregon. It grows at an el- 

 evation of 3,000 to 8,000 feet, and to a height of 100 to 150 feet, 

 and a diameter of two to four feet. It derives its common- name 

 from the light color of its foliage, both of the under and the upper 

 sides of its leaves. 



1379. RED FIR (Abies magnified). This species grows on the high 

 Sierras of California and northward, at an elevation of 7,000 to 

 10,000 feet, and sometimes to a height of 200 feet and a diameter 

 of eight to ten feet. The wood is of a reddish color, from whence 

 its name, and it is strong and durable. This species bears larger 

 cones than any other of the genus. 



1380. THE WESTERN SILVER FIR (Abies amabilis). This tree 

 occurs among the Cascade Mountains. It grows with remarkable 

 symmetry of form, and in favorable situations, to more than a hun- 

 dred feet in height, forming a slender spire of dark green, and when 

 occurring with other kinds sometimes presenting groups of remarka- 



