SPRUCE FIRS. 25 



the Columbia River and on the N. W. coast of America, and 

 which signifies, in their dialects, Big tree and Great fir. Pro- 

 fessor Rafinesque mentions a variety of the Douglas fir, under 

 the name of Abies mucronata, var. palustris, as having been 

 found by Lewis and Clark, during their exploratory expedition 

 in the Oregon country, growing in low or marshy grounds, 

 only 30 feet high, but with spreading branches and a stem two 

 feet in diameter. 



It is found in immense forests, in the north-west part of 

 America, and at different elevations on the Rocky Mountains, 

 forming a small dense little bush not a yard high, at the top of 

 those mountains, but becoming larger and more stately as it 

 descends the sides, and finally it becomes those mighty giants, 

 eight or ten feet in diameter, and from 150 to 200 feet high, in 

 the lower vallej^s, at the base of the same range, and along the 

 banks of the Columbia River. It is also found abundantly in 

 California, and the following variety in Mexico : 



Abies Douglasii taxifolia, Loudon. 

 Syn. Abies Drummondii, Hort. 

 taxifolia, Drtimmond. 



Douglasii Mexicana, Hartiveg. 



brevibi^acteata, Antoine, 



Tsuga Lindleyana, Roezl. 



This very distinct variety has much longer leaves, and of a 

 deeper green than the species, with the cones much shorter, 

 but broader and less pointed ; the extended bracteas are also 

 much shorter, and not much longer than the scales. 



A handsome small tree, growing from 30 to 40 feet high, 

 with horizontal branches and straight branchlets, little forked, 

 found on the Real del Monte mountains, in Mexico, at an ele- 

 vation of from 8000 to 9000 feet, and in the Oregon country. 



Abies Douglasii fastigiata, Knight. 

 A variety with its branches ascending, and much more 

 conical and compact in its outline than the species. 



