THE CONIFERS 167 



The Silver fir (Abies pectinata). 



A native of Central Europe, it was introduced into Great 

 Britain in 1603. It requires warmth and is more suitable for 

 the south of England than for Scotland. It does best on 

 northern and eastern aspects in situations sheltered from 

 wind, but does not thrive in low-lying frosty valleys. It is 

 extremely sensitive to late spring frosts, and this is the chief 

 danger to be guarded against. It is a great shade-bearer. 

 It does best on a deep, fresh, stiffish loam, and prefers soils 

 inclined to be stiff rather than sandy ones. The roots are 

 -deep going, and shallow soils are unsuitable. It can be grown 

 in pure woods, but is better mixed with spruce. In England 

 its chief use would be for underplanting larch or pine woods, 

 which are to be grown to long rotations, as when growing 

 under shelter it escapes damage by frost and greatly improves 

 the fertility of the soil. If grown on blank areas it must be 

 protected by larch or birch nurses planted beforehand. It 

 grows extremely slowly for the first ten or fifteen years, but 

 it then pushes ahead rapidly, and finally reaches a greater 

 height than any other British tree with the exception of 

 spruce and Douglas fir. To get clean timber it must be kept 

 very dense, as the branches bear much shade and do not easily 

 get killed off. It reaches maturity in Great Britain at about 

 seventy years, its timber being used for the same purposes 

 as that of spruce. On the whole it is not a profitable tree to 

 plant, as it requires a good soil where more valuable species 

 could be grown. Insects do not injure it much, but the fungus, 

 Melampsorella Caryophyllacearum, causes witches'-broom and 

 canker, doing serious harm. 



Silver fir is a difficult tree to transplant and succeeds best 

 where five-year-old plants are used, the planting being done 

 in the late spring. 



Nordnianns Silver fir (Abies Nordmanniana). 



This tree is a native of the Crimea, and was introduced into 



