AhlJOKr.Tl'.M AM) Fl! TTI C I Tl'M. PART III. 



And in ( 'laudian, 



" Apta freti> abies." 

 '1'iie tir u-el'ul in >tnp -buiiJm-. 



Iii the /-.VA^^'.v, Virgil sa\ s, alluding to the situation- in \\hich it irrows, 



. '' I'lilclierrima 



abies in montibus alti.-." /;</.. vii. I'M'.. 



Tlie allies is tliemo-t beautiful tree on lofty mountains. 



ic'ul he says, 



" Cndique colics 



Tncluserc' cavi, et nigia nemus aluete cin^unt." 

 " Hills clad with tir, to guard the hallow'd bound, 



The wood was employed bv the ancients {'or main different purposes. Plinv 

 .-peaks of it in several places. It is preferred to that of the larch, he savs, foV 

 the masts of vessels, on account of its lightness. In his |(jth hook, la- 

 speaks of a silver fir that formed the mast of a vessel on board \\hich the 

 Kmpcror Caligula had an obelisk transported from Kg\ pt to Koine. This 

 mast required the outstretched arms of four men to encircle it, and cost 

 si),UOO sesterces, or about 30/. The Komans employed the silver fir for jave- 

 lins, as appears by the following lines from Virgil : 



Adi-erM longa tran.-verberat abiete pectus. " .-7,';.-., xi. tltM. 



'Whose breast exposed the long lir spear transpierced. 



The resinous products of the silver fir were also well known to Theophrastus 

 and Pliny, who both detail the modes practised by the (irecks and Komans 

 in preparing pitch and tar, which scarcely differ at all from those in common 

 use at the present day. 



The silver fir was introduced into England in the seventeenth century ; 

 but the precise period is not known. Plot and Kay mention some trees 

 growing near Newport in Shropshire; and Evelyn speaks of two Spanish or 

 silver firs growing in Harefield Park, Middlesex, that were planted then- in 

 If i(i.'>, at two \ears' growth from the seed. The tree was strongly recom- 

 mended by Kvelyn for its beauty, and it:-, fitness to adorn walks and avenues ; 

 and it has, accordingly, been vcrv generally planted lor ornamental purposes. 

 In ITfh, the Society of Arts gave their gold medal tollenn Vernon, Ksq., 

 of Hilton Park, near Wolverhampton, for having planted upwards of (i(K)O 

 .silver firs. As this tree ripens seeds freely, it is no\\ common in the nurseries, 

 and ver\ generally introduced into plantations, especially such as are orna- 

 mental ; and, in grounds laid out before the middle of the eighteenth century, 

 it may seen near mansions, rearing its fine puamidal head above all other 

 trees. 



I^ropcrtics and f'.vrx. The wood of the silver fir is elastic, and the colour 

 i^ \\hitish. The <_ r rain i.^ irregular, as the fibres \\hich comj)osr it are partly 

 white and tender, and partly \ ellow, or fa\\ ii-coloiired, and hard. The narrower 

 the white lines are, the more beautiful and solid is the urain of the wood. 

 In the Vost:cs, it is said that the external la\ers are more compact than the 

 internal ones; which may arise ii'om the' practice ol harking the trees there 

 before they are cut down. The weight of tins wood varies exceedingly, 

 aci onlm_' to the age of the tree, the place where it grew, and even the part 

 of the trunk from which it \\ as taken. According to llarti^. the \\ood of a 

 tree M) \e;u^ old \\eii_'hs (Kill). II o/. per cubic' loot ureen, and II Ib. .j o/. 

 \\lien dr\ ; \\liile that of a tree lo \'ear> old weighs onl\ .'17 Ib. ( . )(.>'/.. \\hen 

 dr\. It shrinks considerably in drying, like all \\hite \\oods. It is used for 

 jilanks, and carpentrv of all kinds; for the masts of small vessels ; for joists 

 and rafters; and for building the boats used lor navigating rivers. It is said 

 to endure a IOIIL P time when used as piles, and to be much employed in Hoi- 



