136 



Forests and Trees 



arranges them in two rows on the opposite sides of the stem, 

 exposing the upper surface to the light. The bark is thin, 

 smooth and sometimes whitish, and contains numerous blisters 

 which, when ruptured, exude a sticky resinous liquid, which 

 may often be found where it has hardened in streaks as it ran 

 down the trunk. The presence of these blisters in the bark 

 is a ready means of distinguishing the firs from any other of 

 our cone-bearing trees. 



i. BALSAM FIR OR BALSAM. Abies balsamea. (Linnaeus) Miller. 



The balsam fir is one of our most graceful trees, its rich dark 

 green foliage and conical shape making it a rare combination of 



beauty in both form and color. 

 The leaves are dark green above 

 and silvery-white beneath, not more 

 than half an inch long on the upper 

 cone-bearing branches but some- 

 times more than an inch long on the 

 older sterile boughs. The cones are 

 from two to four inches long, stand- 

 ing erect on the stem. They are a rich purple and very resin- 

 ous, the juice often exuding as viscid drops on the young cones 

 or remaining in dry hard masses on the old ones. The bark is 

 densely covered with blisters and varies from thin, smooth, 

 greenish or whitish in the young trees, to about half an inch 

 thick and a rich brown on the older trunks. 



This tree grows on light, well-drained soil, wherever conifer 

 forests are found across Canada to Alberta. It is replaced 

 in the mountains by other species. It grows rapidly and has 

 been extensively used for ornamental planting, but is now being 

 largely replaced for that purpose by more vigorous and longer- 

 lived species from western America and from Asia. 



The resinous juice collected from the blisters on the bark is 

 sold under the name of Canada balsam, and used in microscopic 



FIG. ii. Balsam Fir. 



