164 AMERICAN FOREST TREES 



mended for outside house finish, such as weather-boarding, cornice, and 

 porch work, because of its susceptibility to decay; but it meets require- 

 ments for plain interior finish, and tests have shown it to be good 

 material for cores or backing over which to glue veneers of hardwood. 



While the eastern states have not yet wakened up to the fact that 

 this tree is of value in ornamental planting, its decorative qualities in 

 open stands have been recognized for some time in eastern Europe, where 

 trees of considerable size, promising to attain almost primeval propor- 

 tions, are already flourishing. 



RED FIR (Abies magnified) is the largest fir in America. At its best 

 it attains a height of 250 feet and a diameter of ten, but that size is rare. 

 It has several names, magnificent fir, which is a translation of its botan- 

 ical name ; redbark fir, California red fir, and golden fir. The reference 

 to red which occurs in its several names, is descriptive of its heartwood. 

 Its range lies on the Cascade mountains of southern Oregon, and along 

 the entire length of the western slope of the Sierra Nevadas in California. 

 It is common in southern Oregon and sometimes forms nearly pure 

 forests at elevations of 5,000 or 7,000 feet. It is plentiful in the Sierra 

 Nevada ranges at altitudes of from 6,000 to 9,000 feet. In southern 

 California it ascends 10,000 feet. On old trees the limbs, regularly 

 whorled in collars of five, are usually pendulous or down-growing and are 

 regularly and precisely subdivided into branches and twigs, the short, 

 stiff blue-green leaves, which persist for ten years, closely covering the 

 upper side of the latter. Its cones are the largest of the firs, are dark 

 purple in color and grow erect on the branches. 



The cones are six or eight inches long, and three or four in diameter. 

 They present a fine appearance as they stand erect on the branches. The 

 seeds are large, but their strong wings are able to carry them away from 

 the immediate pretence of the parent tree. The wings are extremely 

 beautiful, and flash light with the colors of the rainbow. Old trees are 

 protected by hard, dark-colored bark five or six inches thick. A forest 

 fire may pass through a stand of old firs without burning through the 

 bark, but young trees are not so protected, and are liable to be killed. 



A study of the wood of the red fir reveals rather more favorable 

 qualities than the other firs afford. Sap and heartwood are more easily 

 distinguished than in the other species, the sapwood being much lighter 

 in color than the reddish heart. Contrary to the general rule among the 

 firs, this wood possesses considerable durability, especially when used 

 for purposes which bring it in contact with the soil. It is, however, light, 

 soft and weak, but has a close, fine grain and compact structure. Season- 

 ing defects, such as checking and warping, are liable to occur unless 

 properly guarded against. It weighs 29.30 pounds per cubic foot, or 



