48 PIXACE^. 



It is tliorouglily hardy, good in constitution, of rapid growth, and 

 large dimensions, and grows freely in almost every description of soil ; 

 and is a most useful tree for planting in low-lying, damp, and marshy 

 soils, where most of its congeners would starve and die ; yet, fully to 

 develop itself it requires a good deep moist loam, and a sheltered 

 situation, where it would attain a height of over one hundred feet in 

 these isles. 



Its timber is hght, elastic, suh-resinous, and when free from knots 

 easily wrought ; tolerahly durable, and useful for many purposes, and 

 enters very largely into our imports of foreign deal, logs, spars, &c., 

 and forms no inconsiderable portion of the world's timber trade. It 

 is, moreover, a most useful tree for ornamental and decorative planting, 

 either for forming large hedges, shelter belts, mixed plantations, or 

 specimen trees. Of its numerous forms and varieties, which are 

 useful as ornamental trees, plants, or shrubs, the only ones worthy 

 of notice are : — Clanhrasiliana, (Lord Claubrasil's dwarf Spruce,) and 

 of this there are two sub-varieties : — stricta, (erect growing,) and 

 variegata, (variegated-leaved,) all three of them never exceeding a couple 

 of yards in height ; denudata, (naked-stemmed or twiggy-branched,) 

 elegans, (the pretty dwarf,) Finedonensis, (Fined on yellow-leaved var.,) 

 monstrosa, (rustic, or monstrous-branched,) nigra, (very dark-green 

 var.,) oocarpa, (egg-shaped-coned,) polita, (the neate,) pygmcua, (the 

 dwarf,) pyramidalls, (erect, or compact growing,) Sangii, (Sang's 

 variety,) stricta, (conical dwarf var.,) tenuifolia, (slender-leaved var.,) 

 variegata, (variegated-leaved,) and pendala, (weeping-branched,) of 

 which latter there are several sub-varieties, such as inverta and recurvata. 



Abies EngelmANI: Engleman's Spruce Fir. 



This is a smaller coned, and smaller leaved form of Menziesii; found 

 on the Eocky Mountains a knarled bush, wliile in the vaUeys of iSTew 

 Mexico it forms a stately tree. 



Abies JezoENSIS: The Jezo Spruce Fir. 



This is merely an altered form of Menziesii. 



Abies Menziesii : Menzie's Spruce Fir. 



This beautiful, ornamental, and valuable timber tree, was first intro- 

 duced to our notice by Douglas, who sent it home in 1831. 



Leaves, from one-half to one inch long, solitary, thickly scattered on 

 the young shoots ; narrow, linear, sharp-pointed, incurved, and rigid ; 

 rich vivid green above, and quite silvery below ; after they are twelve 

 months old many of them fall off, leaving the old inner branch stems 

 naked and warted. 



