Ahies.] LXXVI. CONIFEE^. 529 



imer ranges of Sikkim and Bhutan A. WehUana forma, with Abies dumosa, the 

 Yew, together with Oah, large Rhododendrons, and miall Bamboo, the upper 

 zone of coniferous forest, between 9000 (sometimes 8500) and 13,000 ft. In 

 the outer ranges it does not descend below 10,000 ft. (Hook. Him. Joum. i. 191). 

 In the North-West Himalaya it thrives best iu cold damp glens, with a north 

 or west aspect, and in such places it often constitutes alone, or associated with 

 the alpine Birch, the upper forest belt ; Pinus excelsa often going higher, and 

 always extending farther into the arid tract. A flush of young leaves breaks out 

 in April and May, of a bright green colour, contrasting strongly with the dark- 

 green old foliage. At a distance the foliage looks almost black ; and, like the 

 silver fir of Central Eurd|e, the tree has given the name of Black Forest (Kala 

 ban) to several mountain forests of the N.W. Himalaya. Fl. April ; by the 

 end of May the cones are about 3 in. long, and they ripen in Sept. of the same 

 year, the scales and seeds falling in October. In North Europe the tree 

 suffers in spring, because it starts into growth too early ; it . succeeds in 

 Ireland and South-West England. Attains 120-150 ft., and a girth of 9-15 

 ft. Several instances are recorded of trees exceeding 20 and even 30 ft. in 

 girth. Except in very compact and dense forests, the branches go low down, 

 nearly to the ground ; they are short, spreading nearly horizontally, and form- 

 ing a tail narrow cylindric crown, the outHae resembling that of the Cypress 

 or Lombardy Poplar. Bark of young trees smooth, silvery grey, of old stems 

 darker grey or brownish grey, cut into long narrow acute scales by deep nar- 

 row vertical grooves, often running in spirals round the trunk, and anasto- 

 mosing at acute angles. The wood is whitish, inodorous, open-Mained and soft. 

 Exposed to the weather it is not durable. Weight, 21 lb. (WaUich), 27-35. 

 Value of P. (average of 10 exp.) 440, Capt. W. Jones, Oct. 1844, cut Sept. 

 1844. In Bhutan Qie wood is used for house-building ; from Sikkim it is ex- 

 ported to Tibet. " It splits well, is white, soft, and highly prized for durability," 

 Hook. Him. Joum. ii. 44. In KuUu and near Marri sMngles are made of it ; 

 indoors it is said to last 3-6 years in Kullu, and 8-10 years at Marri. In the dry 

 climate of Lahoul and Kunawar it is much valued for construction. Pieces of 

 the bark are employed to roof shepherds' huts. On the Jhelam the twigs and 

 leaves are used for fodder, and are stored for the winter. According to WaUich, 

 a violet dye is extracted from the cones in Nepal. A large yellowish fungus 

 (mtglan) grows on the roots in N.E. Kamaon, eagerly eaten by the Bhoteas 

 (Madden). 



The Silver Fir of Europe is A. pectinata, DC. — Syn. Pimis Picea, Linn. ; P. 

 Abies, Du Roi ; Picea pectinata, Loudon : Sapin, Fr. ; Tanne, Weisstanne, 

 Edeltanne, Germ. ; Abete, dbezzo, ItaL, — ^the largest of the European conifers, 

 which, when grown in compact masses on good soil and under exceptionally 

 favourable circumstances, attains a height of 180 to 200 ft. The leaves persist 

 8-10 years, they are linear, apex emargmate, dark green and shining above, and 

 white beneath. The cones are erect as in the Himalayan Silver Fir, the bracts 

 pointed, longer than the scales, which fall after the seed ripens. The tree is in- 

 digenous in tlje mountains of South and Central Europe. It forms splendid 

 forests on the north face of the eastern Pyrenees, south of Carcassonne and 

 Limoux in the D^partement de I'Aude. In Spain it is found on the moun- 

 tains of Catalonia and Aragon ; in Corsica it constitutes a belt of forest between 

 the Pinus Larido and the Bm^h, and is associated with the latter near the 

 limit of arborescent vegetation. Forests of it, though unfortunately less exten- 

 sive than might be desirable, are in several places on the crest of the Appenines. 

 In the Vosges and the Schwarzwald it is the most important tree ; and Silver 

 Fir is found in some of the Spruce forests of Saxony and Thuringia. In Britain 

 and Scandinavia it is not indigenous. While young the Silver Fir bears a 



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