IN EXTRA-TROPICAL COUNTRIES. 231 



and perfectly sound. P. Abies var. Nordmanniana, Parlatore 

 (P. Nordmanniana, Steven), Crimea and Circassia, 6,000 feet 

 above the sea. This is one of the most imposing firs, attain- 

 ing a height of 100 feet, with a perfectly straight stem. It 

 furnishes a valuable building timber. The Silver Fir is desir- 

 able for mountain forests. It will grow on sand, but only 

 half as fast as P. Pinaster. 



Pinus alba, Aiton. 



White Spruce. From Canada to Carolina, up to the highest 

 mountains. It resembles P. picea, but is smaller, at most 

 50 feet high. The bark richer in tannin than that of the 

 Hemlock Spruce. The timber well adapted for deal boards 

 and many other purposes, but on the whole inferior to Black 

 Spruce. The tree grows in damp situations or swampy ground. 

 Eligible for Alpine country. 



Pinus Alcocqiana, Parlatore. 



Japan, at an elevation of 6,000 to 7,000 feet. A fine tree, 120 

 feet high, with very small blue-green leaves ; the wood is used 

 for light household furniture. P. tonga and P. polita ascend 

 there to the same height (Rind). 



Pinus amabilis, Douglas. 



Californian Silver Fir. North California, at an elevation of 

 from 4,000 to 7,000 or even 10,000 feet. A handsome 

 Fir, 200 feet high, circumference of stem 24 feet; the stem 

 is naked up to 100 feet. The tree passes under the name of 

 the " Queen of the Forests " (Lemmon) . The wood is elastic, 

 strong, and hard, fit for masts and spars ; it has a peculiar 

 red colour ; spikes, nails, and bolts hold firm and never corrode 

 in it (Duf ur) . 



Pinus Australis, Lichaux.* 



Southern or Swamp Pine, also called Georgia, Yellow Pitch, 

 Long-leaved Yellow or Broom Pine. In the Southern States 

 of North America the tree attains a height of 100 feet. 

 It furnishes a good timber for furniture and building, also 

 for naval architecture and for flooring. According to Dr. 

 Little the tree produces 30,000 feet of first-class heartwood 

 timber per acre. It is this tree which forms chiefly the 

 extensive Pine barrens of the United States, and yields largely 

 the American turpentine, as well as resin, pitch, and tar. 

 Porcher observes that the tree shoots up devoid of branches 

 for sometimes as much as 60 feet, and he calls it " one of 



