318 BRECK'S BOOK OF FLOWERS. 



native forests it varies from one hundred to two hundred and 

 eighty feet in height ; and a stump is mentioned as still found 

 on the Columbia River, which measures forty-eight feet in cir- 

 cumference at three feet from the ground, exclusive of its very 

 thick bark." (Emerson.} 



PICEA. 

 The Fir. 



The Fir tribe are suitable for ornamenting the shrubbery or 

 lawn, when planted in groups, but not proper for single speci- 

 mens. " They are remarkable for the regularity and symme- 

 try of their pyramidal heads. The leaves are solitary, needle- 

 shaped, rigid, sempervirent, supposed by botanists formed of 

 two, grown together. They are distinguished from the other 

 Pines by the smoothness of their bark, in which are formed 

 cavities or crypts, containing their peculiar balsam ; by the sil- 

 very whiteness of the under surface of the seemingly two- 

 rowed leaves, and by their long, erect cones, formed of woody 

 deciduous scales, with a smooth, thin edge. 



"Picea balsamifera. The Balsam Fir. This beautiful 

 evergreen resembles the Spruce in its regular pyramidal form. 

 It differs from it in its bark, which is smooth when young, and 

 continues so until it has attained a considerable age ; in its 

 leaves, which are nearly flat, and of a beautiful silver color 

 beneath ; and in having large, upright cones. It has a strong 

 resemblance to the Silver Fir of Europe, a much loftier and 

 nobler tree. The American tree is known by the name of the 

 Fir Balsam, or Balsam Fir, or simply Fir." " It is hardy, 

 easily transplanted, and grows rapidly and with great vigor, and 

 possesses in a high degree the most important qualities of the 

 evergreens, as an ornamental tree, a regular pyramidal shape, 

 and rich, deep-green foliage. The large cones, with which 

 the upper branches are often loaded, give it additional beauty. 

 Its defects are its stiffness, and the ragged ness which it assumes 

 in old age, which comes on early, as it is a short-lived tree. 



