60 WEST-AMERICAN 



the additional name of "Red Firs." The other two 

 forms named, together with two other northern species, 

 have, usually, whitish bark outside; these are the so- 

 called "White Firs." 



Now these three terms, "Silver," "Red,"and "White," 

 when applied to a group of firs, are not, each, associated 

 with a set of other distinctive characters such as sepa- 

 rate the Large-cone from the Small-cone group. Eacli 

 of them, in fact, crosses the line both sides and invades 

 other groups quite arbitrarily and without any support; 

 hence, "Silver," "Red," and "White," taken alone, do 

 not discriminate between groups and are useless terms 

 for classification. 



In order to distinguish a species absolutely, we may 

 use the translated botanical names, which are the better 

 ones in four instances Grand, Lovely, Noble, and Mag- 

 nificent while the remainder may receive the double 

 names, Sub-Alpine, Shasta Red, California White, Col- 

 orado White, and Bristle-cone Fir. 



Croup I- Large-Cone Firs. 



Meg a car pee. 



Species with bark reddish within (though it may 

 be white' or black outside); cones mostly large, 4 to 

 8 inches long; leaves short, not twisted at base. Mnle 

 flowers about \ inch long, dark red. Four species: 



No. 1 Sub-Alpine Fir A. lasiocarpa, Nuttall. 



Rare on high peaks of the Northwest. Bark thin 



and milk-white outside; cone small, 2 to 3 inches 



