47 



B. EAST AMERICAN CONIFERS. 

 27. Abies balsamea, Miller, Balsam Fir. 



This fir, which shows itself everywhere as an 

 ornamental tree, never comes up to the height 

 standard required for forestal purposes in 

 Germany, namely, 20 metres and more. For 

 this reason no attempts have been made to 

 cultivate it, especially as in point of the quality 

 of wood and adaptability for forest planting it 

 is in no way superior to the indigenous species. 



In Austria it is tested with a view to its 

 growth in cold, mountainous altitudes. 



28. Jimiperus virginiana, L., Virginian Juniper, 

 Pencil Wood, Red Juniper, Red Cedar. 



A warm climate (such as that required for 

 the sweet chestnut) is a first necessity to the 

 proper growth of this tree. Under these circum- 

 stances the attempts at cultivation which have 

 been made in Germany would appear to be 

 of no value. The oldest Faber plantations at 

 Stein, near Nuremberg, are merely a proof of 

 this. The remunerative cultivation of pencil 

 wood can only be thought of in climates warmer 

 than the warmest in German territory, such as 

 Hungary, Dalmatia, the South of France, &c. 



