ON THE YORKSHIRE COAST 65 



it forms vast forests, and is found at high eleva- 

 tions, sometimes 6000 to 8000 feet altitude. Like 

 all other Silver Firs it succeeds best on the slopes 

 of hills, on those sides which are shaded from the 

 sun at mid-day. In very dry, sunny positions it 

 suffers much from drought. It prefers a rather 

 light deep loam, but will succeed in any good 

 garden soil. The wood is soft, and it only makes 

 a second-rate timber tree (Mr. Barry says he 

 made a gate of the wood of this tree at thirteen 

 or fourteen years from planting, which is still good 

 after twelve years' use). In positions near the sea 

 it is found to be a little tender, but on the Fyling 

 Hall estate, farther inland, it has proved itself to 

 be the most successful of the Coniferse in half 

 shelter. The north-east winds often affect the 

 feather, and birds spoil the leaves by selecting it 

 for perching upon on account of its prominence. 

 It requires nursing when young. Evergreen ; in- 

 troduced from California in 1831 ; height 200 to 

 300 feet. 



Abies nordmanniana (syns. Pinus nordman- 

 niana, Picea nordmanniana), Crimean Silver Fir. 

 A stately tree, and generally considered to be one 

 of the hardiest of the Silver Fir group ; but it 

 hardly bears this character by the seaside on the 

 Yorkshire coast, where it is a little uncertain. 

 It does not begin to grow until the spring is far 

 advanced, consequently its young shoots and 



