194 THE FIRS 



cases, especially for butter. It is not extensively manufac- 

 tured at present. 



It is a fairly good seeder, with a large wing attached to 

 the seed, and the percentage of germination is good. It is 

 not exacting as to a seed-bed, and this, with its endurance 

 of shade, enables it to wage an aggressive and successful 

 contest for reproduction among its associates. 



AMABILIS FIB : Abies amabilis 



JUST why " Lovely Fir," by which name this tree is 

 largely and significantly known, could not have been al- 

 lowed to remain instead of " Amabilis," both meaning sub- 

 stantially the same, is hard to understand. It is sometimes 

 called White Fir, which is not truthfully suggestive ; but 

 " Amabilis " is adopted by authorities and hence must be 

 accepted. Its range is confined mainly to the Cascade Moun- 

 tains of Washington and Oregon, where it is found at an 

 elevation of one thousand to six thousand feet above tide. 

 Its stem is slender and straight and, in favorable locations, 

 with a diameter of five to six feet and a height of two hun- 

 dred feet ; but a diameter of eighteen to thirty inches and a 

 height of seventy-five feet are far more common than any 

 near approach to the dimensions first named. It is moder- 

 ately light-demanding, and may be found clear of limbs for 

 fifty to eighty feet in close stands. In the open it retains 

 its limbs from the ground up. It is a slow grower. Trees 

 from sixteen to twenty-four inches in diameter are from 

 one hundred and seventy-five to two hundred and thirty 

 years old. 



The wood is moderately soft, but considerably harder 

 than that of some of the Firs, close-grained, not strong or 

 durable when exposed ; heartwood light brown, with thin, 

 lighter colored sapwood. It can be used for interior finish 

 and similar purposes, but at present it is seldom cut for 

 lumber, because better wood can be secured more easily. 



It is a prolific seeder, and it would seem to be capable 



