APPLICATION OF THE METHOD. 77 



and it will bend a long while before breaking ; masts 

 for the mercantile marine are obtained from it ; and 

 sawn up into planking, it is one of the woods most 

 used by cabinet makers ; when split up it is made 

 into household utensils ; small slabs of this wood 

 are used for roofing purposes (shingles). It yields 

 a poor firewood, if we except the branches, which 

 contain a few resin cells, and the bark, which 

 contains the numerous resin-ducts. The small 

 amount of resin contained in the stem is doubtless 

 one of the reasons why fir- wood cannot stand alter- 

 nate states of moisture and dryness. 



ROTATION. For the various purposes above de- 

 tailed, no distinction is made between the exterior 

 and interior annual rings of growth. The whole 

 thickness of the trunk is used ; hence there is but 

 little wastage, and trees of an average girth of seven 

 feet are sufficiently large for all purposes. At eleva- 

 tions below 1,600 feet, or in rich soils and under 

 temperate climates, a rotation of 120 years will 

 produce these dimensions, but in the true home of 

 the silver fir from 150 to 180 years is necessary. 



REGENERATION CUTTINGS. The regeneration cut- 

 tings should be conducted as for the beech, remem- 

 bering that the silver fir, from the localities it 

 inhabits, is still more exposed to damage by the 

 wind ; that since the young plant is not out of 

 danger until three or four years old, the first 

 secoudary cutting must not be undertaken before 

 that age; that great caution must be observed as 

 long as the young fir is not fairly verticillated ; 

 lastly, that it is better to allow the crop to remain in 



