THE SILVER FIR AND FROST. 125 



land, in valleys, and in ravines. It will also thrive in 

 heavy clay, but not in land that is absolutely wet, 

 being found growing in soils of various and opposite 

 qualities, so that they are not affected by severe 

 drought It is a capital tree to plant amongst other 

 timber which it is the intention shortly to remove, as 

 the excess of shelter in such situations, which is often 

 found fatal to many kinds of young trees, promotes 

 the growth of the silver fir and shields it from the 

 effect of the late spring frosts, to which it is extremely 

 sensitive. On this account it is altogether unfit for 

 the bare and exposed situations upon which the Scotch 

 pine and the larch flourish. The yearly growths of the 

 young trees are always very short, and are peculiarly 

 exposed to injury from frosts, owing to the circum- 

 stance of the buds of the top shoots being unfolded at 

 the same time as those of the lateral branches, which 

 are remarkably tender and soon get nipped ; and it is 

 subject to this casualty till it gets ten or fifteen feet 

 high, and assumes a more robust and vigorous habit, 

 when the buds on the lower branches get first 

 developed, leaving those on the top to shoot at a 

 later period, by which they generally manage to 

 escape injury. 



The seeds of the silver fir should be sown in April, 

 and the soil of the beds well pulverised and made fine. 

 The fertility of the seeds varies considerably, but a 

 distance of one inch to one inch and a half is enough 

 for the young seedlings to stand in, and when the 

 young plants appear above ground, it is expedient to 

 protect them from the frost, as the least touch destroys 

 them. The branches of evergreen trees are good for 

 this purpose, or broom stuck up on end in small boughs 



