THE SPRUCE FIR 111 



" frankincense," from cracks in the bark or from arti- 

 ficial incisions, for as long as twenty years ; but even- 

 tually the wood is rendered valueless for timber, and 

 even almost useless for fuel. By melting, boiling Avith 

 water, and nitration, the medicinal Burgundy pitch 

 is prepared from this resin in the Vosges Mountains, 

 besides small quantities of colophony, lamp black, 

 and spirit of turpentine. 



In Norway the bark is used lor tanning, though in- 

 ferior to that of the Larch, and in times of scarcity the 

 sweetish bast is even ground down with meal as a 

 breadstuff. In all countries where the Spruce grows, 

 decoctions of the shoots in fermented liquor are used 

 as a beverage, or as a remedy for scurvy. Thousands 

 of young Spruce trees, or the tops of larger specimens, 

 are used annually as Christmas trees for the amuse- 

 ment of our children. 



As a tree, the chief value of the Spruce is as a 

 nurse, its dense foliage and tapering form serving well 

 for the protection of young Oaks or Elms, whilst the 

 thinnings prove fairly remunerative as Hop-poles. 

 Its tendency to preserve its lower boughs renders it 

 a valuable cover for game ; and as it bears the shears 

 well it is used on the Continent for hedges in nursery 

 gardens. 



Broken down by loads of snow or boisterous wind, 

 the Spruce, as seen in Alpine landscapes, attracted 

 the pencil of Salvator Rosa; but it suffers in the 

 estimation of most people by the extremely sym- 

 metrical regularity of outline that accompanies its 

 somewhat sombre coloration. " It is," says Sir Thomas 

 Lauder, " the great tree of the Alps, and is so mentally 



