THE PINE FAMILV. it 



region, however, it is true that the trees, although remote and inaccessible, 

 are much sought by lumbermen and tanners. Their timber is very valuable, 

 as its durability is great and it has a strong capacity for holding nails. For 

 framing and in various constructions, it is used, and tannin abounds in the 

 bark in considerable quantities. From Nova Scotia and Quebec the tree 

 grows also westward to Wisconsin and southward to Georgia and Alabama. 

 The oil of hemlock is obtained by the distillation of its twigs. 



SHE BALSAM, SILVER FIR. FRASER'S BALSAM FIR. 



{Plate III.) 

 Abies Fj-ase?-/. 



FAMILY SHAPE 



Fine. Pyramidal. 



HEIGHT RANGE 



■y:>--]o feet. Vi^-ginia to North Carolina 



and Tennessee. 



TIME OF BLOOM 

 May^June. 



Bark: dark brown ; smooth and marked horizontally with resinous blisters. 

 Leaves : slightly over one half inch long; scattered thickly along the iij^per side of 

 the branches; linear, blunt at the apex, flat, grooved through the middle and 



^^.g^-:^ ^>i^ having a raised ridge 



"-;=;>' on the lower side; 



..,-. - ^-'- bright green and lus- 



trous above ; silvery be- 

 low because covered 

 w i t h a bluish-white 

 bloom; fragrant; ever- 

 green. Cojtes : one to 

 one and a half inches 

 long; erect; oblong, 

 sessile, their scales 

 broad and shorter than 

 the inner bracts which 

 ^ are toothed at their 

 apices and project 

 short, reflexed prickles. 



This must beautiful of the firs inhabits only 

 the higher mountains of the Alleghanies, sel- 

 dom crowning a peak that has not an altitude 

 of 4,000 feet above the sea level. " She Bal- 

 sam " it is called by the mountaineers, and the 

 extensive forest it forms in proximity to the 

 dark masses of foliage of the " He Balsam," 

 Picea Mariana, has probably been the cause 

 of Mount Mitchell being so generally known 

 as the black mountain. When glowing with 

 its cones in the autumn, which grow often 

 at the tops of the trees, it is a most attractive 

 sight. Surrounding Roan's fair summit as a 

 ring and at the elevation where other abun- 



r.^f^ 



