ABIES. 



ABIES. 



10 



of the French. Planks of indifferent quality, on account of their 

 softness, are sawn from its trunk, which also yields Burgundy pitch 

 and Strasburg turpentine. For its successful cultivation in this 

 country it requires strong laud, such as will suit the oak, and a 

 sheltered situation ; it will then become a very large tree. From a 

 communication to Mr. Lambert, it appears that trees have been felled 

 which, at 100 years of age, contained six loads, or 240 cubic feet, of 

 timber. It is said by some to grow slowly for the first fifteen years, 

 but afterwards with great rapidity. A plant in Woburn Park is 

 recorded to have grown for 110 years at the rate of one foot in height 

 and nearly three and a half cubic feet per annum. Its trunk some- 

 times arrives at 150 feet in height, and six feet in diameter. 



Antiquarians, not considering that this plant is the real Abies 

 ], nil-la i-i-imn of Virgil, and of the Roman authors, have lost themselves 

 in vain attempts to reconcile the declaration of Caesar (' De Bel. Gal.,' 

 T. 12), that he found in Britain all the trees of Gaul, except the beech 

 and abies, with the well-known fact that fir-wood is abundant in our 

 ancient mosses, and has been met with even beneath the foundations 

 of Roman roads. What Caesar meant was, no doubt, that he did not 

 meet with the silver fir in Britain. Of the pine he says nothing, and 

 therefore it is to be presumed that he found it. 



Abies Sibirica, the Siberian Silver Fir (Pinus Sibirica and Pinus 

 I't'-hin of the gardens). Scarcely anything certain has been pub- 

 lished of this tree, which, according to Linnaeus, Mr. Lambert, and 

 others, is the same as the Abies picea. Gmelin desciibes it as a native 

 of all parts of Siberia as far as 58 N. lat. in mountainous regions, 

 especially in the upper country lying between the Irtish and the Ob, 

 where it forms dense woods. 



Abies grandii, Great Californian Fir (Pinus grandis, Douglas and 

 Lambert). Leaves long, narrow, very blunt, whitish beneath, all 

 turned one way. Cones oblong, erect, rather curved, with very broad, 

 nncvtm, downy scales, which are longer than the bracteae. Found, by 

 Mr. Douglas, in low moist valleys in northern California, where it 

 attains the height of 200 feet. The wood is soft, white, and of inferior 

 quality. Cones from three to four inches long ; bracts very short, 

 jagged, two-lobed, with a short intermediate point. 



Abies balsamea, the Balm of Gilead Fir (Abies balsamifera, Michaux ; 

 I'niiij balsamea, Lambert). Leaves flat, silvery-white beneath, either 

 emargioate or entire at the point, all curved towards the upper side. 

 Cones cylindrical, oblong, erect, purple, with rounded, even, undi- 

 vided scales. Found, along with Abits niyra and Abie* alba, in the 

 coldest parts of North America, but always in detached indivi- 

 duals, never in large masses. It extends also along the ridge of the 

 Alleghanies as far as the crests of the mountains of North Carolina. 

 It fiirms a small slender tree, rarely more than 40 feet high, with a 

 'li uneter of from 12 to 15 inches. The cones are four to five inches 

 long, and about an inch in diameter. Its wood is light, of a pale 

 v colour, and but slightly resinous ; it is of little value, and is 

 chiefly split up into staves for fish-barrels. The English name has 

 been given in consequence of a resemblance between the clear trans- 

 parent greenish-yellow turpentine, which is obtained from numerous 

 cysts in its bark, and the Balm of Gilead of the shops. The turpentine 

 mmonly known under the name of Canadian Balsam. In 

 England this is a small tree of very ornamental appearance when 

 young, on the skirts of plantations, but it rarely acquires any 

 c<m-i<lerable size. 



Abies mibilis, Large-Bracted Fir (Pinus nobilis, Douglas and Lam- 

 bert). Leaves very numerous, falcate, all turned one way, of 

 nearly the game colour on both sides. Cones oblong, erect, with 

 rounded broad scales concealed by the long wedge-shaped two-lobed 

 jugged scales, which are bent back, and terminate abruptly in a rigid 

 elongated point. It is a majestic tree, forming vast forests upon the 

 mountains of northern California, where it was found by Mr. Douglas. 

 The timber is said to be of excellent quality. The cones are about 

 six inches long. 



Abia Frazeri, the Double Balsam Fir (Pinus Frazeri, Pursh and 

 Lambert). Leaves linear, emarginate, silvery-white beneath. Cones 

 oblong, squarrose. Bracts somewhat leafy, inversely cordate, mucronate, 

 reflexed. A native of the mountains of Carolina and Pennsylvania. 



Abii.< Webbiana, Webb's Fir (Pinus \\'el>biana, Wallich and Lam- 

 bert; Pinus spectabilis, Lambert). Leaves linear, solitary, flat, all- 

 spreading, and turned one way, silvery-white beneath, with a deep 

 notch at the extremity. Cones oblong, erect, obtuse, with very broad, 

 rounded, even scales. According to the account of Captain Webb, 

 who first discovered it, this remarkable species attains the height of 

 80 or 90 feet, with a diameter near the ground of 3 or 4 feet. Its 

 wood seems to be valuable. From what has been reported of its 

 d appearance, it is probably one of the most interesting species 

 tli.-it has yet been discovered. Inhabiting the colder regions of northern 

 India, and found among plants which are more Siberian in their 

 character than Indian, there can be no reasonable doubt of its being 

 well able to withstand the rigour of the winters of this country. 



A bit* Canadentis, the Hemlock Spruce Fir (Michaux ; Pinus Cana- 

 dentit, Lambert). Leaves flat, arranged irregularly in two rows ; 

 when young downy, as well as the young slender branches. Cones 

 very small, ovate, sharp-pointed, with rather acute, even, entire scales : 

 seeds very small.- The most northerly situation in which this tree is 

 found is about Hudson's Bay, in lat. 51. Near Quebec it forms 



extensive forests ; in Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Vermont, and the 

 upper part of New Hampshire, it is extremely common ; but in the 

 middle and southern states of North America it is confined to the 

 Alleghanies and their dependent ridges, where it inhabits the sides of 

 torrents and the bleakest situations. It is a noble species, rising to 

 the height of 70 or 80 feet, and measuring from 2 to 3 feet in diameter. 

 It appears to be of slow growth, not arriving at its full dimensions in 

 less than 200 years. When from 25 to 30 feet high its form is exceed- 

 ingly elegant, but when old its huge limbs are apt to be rent and 

 broken by winds and snow ; and their naked stumps, sticking out 

 beyond the young and verdant foliage, give the trees an air of decre- 

 pitude and decay. The wood is of little value, being neither sound 

 nor durable. The bark is valuable for tanning ; mixed with oak-bark, 

 it in said to be much better than oak-bark alone. 



Abies Brunoniana, the Deciduous Silver Fir (Pinus Brunoniana, 

 Wallich ; P. dumosa, Lambert). Leaves flat, all turned 

 oneway, serrulate towards the points, covered beneath 

 with a milk-white bloom. ' Cones terminal, erect, 

 ovate, blunt, very small, with lax, ovate, very blunt 

 scales. Found in the northern parts of India in the 

 provinces of Nepaul, Bootan, and Gossain Than. It 

 is a tree 70 or 80 feet high, with a clear trunk of 

 from 15 to 20 feet, and a spreading very branchy 

 head. The wood is of bad quality, being liable to 

 warp. 



Abies reiigiosa, the Sacred Mexican Fir (Pinus 

 rdigiosa, Humboldt and Kunth). Young branches 

 quite smooth. Leaves arranged in two rows, sharp- Cone of A. Sruno. 

 pointed, covered beneath with a glaucous bloom. mana. 



Found by Humboldt, on the lower hills of Mexico, at an elevation 

 of 4000 feet.- Deppe and Schiede found it upon the cold mouu- 

 taiiis of Orizaba, at the highest limit of arborescent vegetation. It 

 is described as a lofty tree, resembling A bies picea and Abies balsamea, 

 from which it is distinguished by its sharp-pointed leaves. The flowers 

 are unknown. The branches are used for adorning the churches in 

 Mexico. According to Mr. Lambert, the cones are like those of the 

 cedar of Lebanon, but smaller, and almost black. 



Abies hirtella, the Hairy Fir (Pinus hirtetta, Humboldt and Kuuth). 

 Young branches covered with hairs. Leaves arranged in two 

 rows, flat, acute, covered with glaucous bloom beneath. Known 

 only from the incomplete account of Humboldt, who found it on the 

 mountains of Mexico, growing at an elevation of between 8000 and 

 9000 feet. He describes it as a small tree, three or four times as high 

 as a man. 



Abies Smithiana, the Indian Silver Fir (Pinus Smithiann, Wallich). 

 Leaves slender, four-oomered, whitish beneath, a little turned towards 

 one side, dark green, from one 

 inch to one and a half long. Cones 

 from four to six inches in length, 

 erect, ovate-oblong, with obovate, 

 rounded, even scales. A native of the 

 slopesoftheHimalayaMountains. It 

 is a tree of enormous size, with nearly 

 opposite branches, covered with short 

 down, and so arranged as to form 

 generally two rows. 



SECT. II. SPRUCE FIBS. 



Leaves yrdwin;/ singly round the 

 brandies, and all spreading equally. 



Abies excelsa, the Norway Spruce 

 Fir (De Candolle; Pinus abies, Lin- 

 naeus). Leaves scattered, some- 

 what four-cornered, mucronate. 

 Cones cylindrical, pendulous, with 

 blunt, wavy, slightly-toothed scales. 

 It is a native of the mountainous 

 parts of the north of Europe, where 

 it sometimes constitutes, as in Nor- 

 way, the principal timber. It is 

 found all over Siberia as high as 70 

 N. lat., in which region it is a certain 

 sign of the presence of springs of 

 fresh water, for it is only seen in 

 moist and springy places. When 

 growing singly in rich soil, separated 

 from other trees, this forms one of 

 the most beautiful objects that can 

 be imagined, with its long drooping 

 branches touching the very ground, Cone of the Indian Silver Fir. 

 and its regularly pyramidal figure : 



but in other situations, in plantations where the trees are crowded 

 and deprived of their lower branches by want of light and air, it 

 becomes, after nine or ten years, an inelegant plant of little value 

 except to be cut for poles. When in perfection (and occasionally 

 it arrives at its greatest perfection in this country), it acquires a 

 stature of 150 feet. Its wood is of a white colour, of a fine even 



