WHITE FIR 193 



pale yellowish brown to pale brown, with thin lighter- 

 colored sapwood. It is not known whether it is suitable for 

 pulp, but it is reasonable to suppose that it is. Owing to 

 a general prejudice against fir lumber, a prejudice which 

 naturally comes from its association with Sugar Pine and 

 Western Yellow Pine, it is not extensively cut, but will 

 undoubtedly be favorably accepted in due time. 



WHITE FIR : Abies concolor 



No objection can be seriously urged against the name 

 commonly applied to this tree, for the color of its wood 

 fairly justifies it, but notwithstanding the fitness of this 

 name, ten others have been added, among which are Bast- 

 ard Pine and Black Gura. Its range is from Oregon to 

 southern California, northern Arizona and New Mexico, 

 to Colorado and Utah. It grows to its largest size in the 

 coast region. It may occasionally be found there two hun- 

 dred feet high with a diameter of six feet ; more commonly 

 eighty to one hundred feet high and twenty to thirty inches 

 in diameter. The stem is straight and tapers gradually. 

 Mature trees are covered for some distance above the ground 

 with rough bark from four to six inches thick and deeply 

 furrowed. It is a rapid grower for the first fifty to one hun- 

 dred years ; after that, its growth is slow until it reaches 

 its end, which is at about three hundred years. A tree sixty 

 inches in diameter showed three hundred and seven annual 

 rings. While it requires less moisture in the soil than the 

 other Firs, it still rejoices in a humid atmosphere. It is 

 moderate in its demand for light at all periods of its growth. 

 Only Alpine Fir and Engelmann Spruce are less so among 

 associated species. 



The wood is very light, soft, coarse-grained, not strong, 

 but sufficiently so to be useful for ordinary purposes ; is 

 easily worked, but is not durable. It is nearly white in color, 

 being slightly tinged with very light brown, and is odor- 

 less, which latter feature makes it valuable for packing- 



