AMERICAN FOREST TREES 



of western fir for pulp has been suggested, but little has been done. It has been 

 planted ornamentally in parts of Europe, but there is no comparison between the 

 decorative appearance of this fir and its associated species, the others which are in 

 cultivation being much superior. Removal from the old habitat militates greatly 

 against its natural beauty and reduces it to the level of the ordinary. 



ALPINE KiR (Abies lasiocarpa) is so called because it thrives on high mountains 

 and in the far North. It grows in southern Alaska, up to latitude 60, and southward 

 to Oregon and Colorado. Its other names are balsam, white balsam, Oregon balsam, 

 mountain balsam, white fir, pumpkin tree, down-cone, and downy-cone subalpine fir. 

 It grows from sea level in Alaska up to 7,000 feet or more in the South. It is not 

 abundant, and not very well known. However, its slender, spirelike top distin- 

 guishes it from all associates and it may be recognized at long distances by that 

 characteristic. It endures cold at 40 degrees below zero, and summer climate at 90 

 degrees. Trees are usually small, and the trunks are covered with limbs to the 

 ground. On high mountains the lower limbs often lie flat on the ground, and the 

 twigs sometimes take root. Under very favorable circumstances this fir may reach 

 a height of 160 feet and a diameter of four, but the usual size is less than half of it, 

 even when conditions are fair, while on bleak mountains mature trees may be only 

 three or four feet high, with most of the limbs prostrate. The sprawling form of 

 growth makes the tree peculiarly liable to be killed by fire. The bark is thin, 

 smooth, and flinty ; and in color it is ashy gray or chalky white. Leaves are one and a 

 half inches or less long; the purple cones from two to four inches. Trees bear cones at 

 about twelve years of age. The seeds are equipped with violet or purplish wings, 

 and they fly far enough to find the best available places to plant themselves. The 

 wood is narrow-ringed, light, soft, and in color from pale straw to light yellowish - 

 brown. It is fairly straight grained, and splits and works easily; but trunks are very 

 knotty. Its best service in the past has consisted in supplying fuel to mining camps 

 and mountain stock ranges. 



