ABIES GBANDIB, A. MAGNIPICA. 99 



tree an extremely elegant feathered appearance, with but little of the 

 formal conical outline common to most of the Silver Firs. In the 

 dense forests of the Lower Columbia, it is much more slender, and 

 the branches are confined to the top. The trunk is straight, smooth, 

 and cylindrical, and furnishes timber of excellent quality. On the 

 Columbia and Willamette, it is known as "White Fir," to distinguish 

 it from "Ked Fir" (Abies Dowjlasii.)* 



Abies grandis has proved to be perfectly hardy in Great Britain. It 

 is a beautiful and distinct tree, but it is by no means generally 

 distributed over Great Britain, as seedling plants have been till quite 

 recently very scarce. Mr. William Lobb, writing from Oregon to 

 Mr. James Veitch, in October, 1852, says: "The cones of A. grandis 

 are very difficult . to procure ; like most of the tribe, they are produced 

 about the tops, and the trees are so lofty and large that it is almost 

 impossible to climb them. The scales of the cones, too, are deciduous, 

 and by felling the trees the cones fall to pieces, and the seeds are 

 lost." 



The specific name grandis, "tall," refers to the lofty habit of the tree. 



Abies magniflca. — A tall stately tree, attaining a height of 

 upwards of 200 feet, with the diameter of its trunk near the ground 

 from 5 to 8 feet, and often 10, on the Californian Sierras. As 

 seen in England it is one of the most formal of Silver Firs ; its 

 straight tapering trunk is furnished at short intervals with whorls of 

 rigid horizontal branches ; each branch is feathered with branchlets 

 as stiff as the primary, so that the portions of the trunk between 

 the whorls are fully exposed to view. The foliage is dense, the 

 leaves being more crowded above than below, the longest fully 

 If inch in length, those above erect and incurved, those below 

 with a distichous expansion ; they are olive green, very glaucous 

 on the upper surface when young, the colour becoming deeper and 

 duller by age, and marked with two silvery lines beneath. The 

 cones are cylindrical, 6 to 7 inches long and 2£ to 3 inches in 

 diameter, with the outer edge of the scales incurved. 



Habitat. — North California and Oregon. 



Introduced in 1851 by the Scotci. Oregon Association, through 

 their collector, John Jeffrey. 



Abies magnifica is quite hardy, and rarely suffers from late 

 spring frosts, as is the case with many fine Abies that start into 



* Dr. Newberry, Pacific Railway Report. 



