II 



AIUKS. 



II 



grain, and very durable : in the market it U known under the name 

 of White Deal or Chrutiania Deal In Norway it arrives at maturity 

 in TO or 80 year*. Tree* of auch an age are what are usually out 

 down for exportation, and each yield* on an average throe piece* of 



Norway Spruce Fir (Abit> exttlta}. 



timber, eleven or twelve feet long. The Spruce is readily known by 

 it* leaves of one uniform dull green colour, spread equally round the 

 branches, and by its long pendant cones. 



Abut oriental U, the Oriental Fir (1'inut oriental it, Linnaeus and 

 Lambert). Leaves very short, uniformly imbricated, quadrangular, 

 with a callous point. Cones ovate, cylindrical, pendulous, their 

 scales somewhat rhomboid. To botanists this is known chiefly by 

 a figure published by Mr. Lambert after a drawing by Aubriet, the 

 draughtsman who accompanied Tournefort in his journey to the 

 Levant It was found by that traveller in the mountains south-east 

 of Trebisond, above the convent of St John. It has been subsequently 

 met with by Russian botanists in the woods of Mingrelia, and was 

 seen near Teflis by Sir Gore Ouseley ; but little has been added to 

 our knowledge of the species. The young branches are said to be 

 hairy. The leaves are very short and dense. The cones are small 

 and pendulous, of an ovate, tapering figure. 



Abiet alba, the White Spruce Fir (Michaux; Pinut alba, Lam- 

 bert). Leaves rather glaucous, spreading equally round the branches, 

 four-cornered, somewhat pungent. Cones narrow, oval, tapering 

 towards the point, with even undivided scales. Found along with 

 Abia nigra in the colder regions of North America. According to 

 Michaux it does not advance so far to the northward as that species, 

 from which it is known not only by its smaller size, the trunks rarely 

 exceeding 40 or 50 feet in height, but also by the bluish cast which 

 characterises the foliage, and which gives it a much lighter appearance 

 than the sombre A bit* nigra. Dr. Richardson, however, states that 

 it was the most northerly tree observed in Franklin's first Polar 

 Journey. The timber is of inferior quality. From the fibres of the 

 root, macerated in water, the Canadian Indians prepare the thread 

 with which they sew together the birch-bark that forms their canoes. 

 Its resin is also used to render the seams water-tight The bark is 

 said to be occasionally used for tanning. 



Abia nigra, the Black Spruce Fir (Michaux; Pinut nigra and 

 rubra, Lambert). Leaves spreading equally round the stem, short, 

 four-cornered. Cones ovate-oblong, obtuse, with ragged rounded 

 scales. It is a native of the most inclement regions of North America, 

 especially in swampy situations and in the valleys between ridges of 

 low hills, where the soil is deep, black, and humid. In such situations 

 are found the finest forests of this species, and there, although the 

 trees are so crowded together as often not to be more than four or 

 five feet apart, the timber arrives at the height of 70 or 80 tset, with 

 a diameter of from 16 to 20 inches. The firs in the landscapes of 

 northern scenery illustrating Franklin's first ' Polar Expedition ' are 

 of this species, which, however, Dr. Richardson did not observe 

 higher than G5 N. lat The trunk is remarkable for the perfect regu- 

 larity with which it diminishes from the base upwards. The head is 

 of a regularly pyramidal figure, the branches spreading almost horizon- 

 tally, and not inclining towards the earth, as in the Norway Spruce. 

 The timber is of great value, on account of its strength, lightness, and 



elasticity. It is employed for the yards of ships ; and in America, in 

 dutricts where the oak is scarce, also for their knees ; floors are 

 occasionally laid with it, hut it in not well adapted for this usage, as 

 the planks are apt to split From ii - .vmg branches is extracted the 

 Essence of Spruce, so w.-il known as a useful antiscorbutic in long 

 voyages. According to Mr. Lambert, the curious Dwarf Spruce, called 

 Piniu claiibratiliana, is probably a variety of Abia - 



Abin Douglatii, the Douglas Fir (I'iniu laj-ifulia, Lainl-it ; 

 Pinut Douglatii). Leaves spreading equally, deep green, 

 beneath, obtuse. Cones oernuoiu, ovate-oblong, with ratlin- mi. .,:> 

 cartilaginous scales, much shorter than the bracts, which are three- 

 toothed, the lateral teeth being membranous, with the intermediate 

 ones much longer and more rigid. According to Mr. Douglas, the 

 discoverer of this gigantic species, it is found in immense forests in 

 North-West America from 43 to 52' N. lat Tin- trunks va. 

 two to ten feet in diameter, and from 100 to 180 feet in i 

 Occasionally it arrives at still greater dimensions. It is an evergreen 

 tree, with an erect taper trunk, which when old is covered i 

 rugged bark from six to nine inches thick, abounding in a clear 

 yellow resin, and making exivllent fuel. Tin- ymuu; branches have 

 their bark filled with receptacles of resin, as in the Balm of Oilead. 



Cone of Douglas Kir. 



The timber is heavy, firm, of as deep a colour as yew, with very 

 few knots, and not in the least liable to warp. The growth is exceed- 

 ingly rapid. 



A considerable number of plants of this important species are now 

 scattered among the porks and woods of this country, some hundred* 

 having been raised and distributed by the Horticultural S. teiety ; it 

 appears to suit this climate perfectly, and to be likely to prove more 

 valuable than even the larch itself, being evergreen, and fully as hardy. 



Alia Memiaii, the Menzies Fir (Pin at Memiaii, Douglas and 

 Lambert). Leaves very short, rigid, rather sharp-pointed, whitish 

 beneath, spreading regularly round the stem, very deciduous. Cones 

 oblong, composed of very lax, ragged, retuse, ovate, thin scales, inn, li 

 longer than the narrow, serrated, concealed bracteic. Buds ovate, 

 a ute, covered with resin. It is a native of Northern California, where 

 it was found by Mr. Douglas, who describes the wood as being of 

 excellent quality. 



SECT. III. LARCHES. 

 Learei groielny in cliisttri ; deciduous. 



By some botanists this section is considered essentially different 

 from Abiei ; but the want of any clear distinctive characters, either 

 in the mode of growth or the organs of fructification, induces us to 

 concur with Linmcus, Jussieu, and Richard, in considering the Larch 

 as belonging to the same genus as the Spruce. The leaves of the 

 former are clustered or fasciculated, merely in consequence of the 

 universal non-development of lateral branches; so that the leaves 

 themselves make their appearance without a perceptible central a\is. 

 This is proved not only in the Cedar of Lebanon, but even in the 

 Larch itself, by numerous cases where the branches being less al 

 than usual, lengthen enough to display their real nature. 



Abiet Larir, Richard; the Common Lan-h Kir ( Pi n it* iMrir, Lin- 

 naeus; Larix Europcea, De Candolle). Leaves clustered, dccidunu. 

 Cones ovate-oblong, blunt It is a native of the mountains of ili,> 

 middle of Europe, of Russia, and of Siberia. In the latter country it 

 is the commonest of all trees, delighting in dry elevated situations, 

 where it forms vast forests, sparingly intermixed with pines. I ' I 

 tnmk grows very erect, with graceful drooping branches, gradually 

 diminishing from the base to the apex, and giving it a regularly 

 pyramidal form. In the spring, when its young leaves have just burst 

 into life, it has a peculiar bright yellowish-green tint, which is possessed 

 by no other tree of our forests. The Larch has been now for many 



