THE FIR. 157 
the studding of houses, in-door work, or work of any 
description that is kept from exposure to the weather. 
The only way to transplant it successfully is to keep 
it two or three years in the nursery and tend it care- 
fully. I do not recommend the hemlock for cultiva- 
tion, as there are so many more valuable and better 
timber trees; for instance, the white, Scotch, and red 
pines. 
BALSAM FIR. 
This is a native of the coldest portions of the continent. 
It rises to a height of forty feet, with a diameter of from 
fifteen to eighteen inches; it tapers very rapidly from 
the base up; the wood is white, soft, and of no strength ; 
the resin is deposited in clumps and blisters on the trunk 
and branches, and is used for medicinal purposes. It is 
passable as an ornamental tree, but soon becomes old 
and decrepit and loses its branches and leaves. 
FRASER’S FIR. 
This is a variety that is found from the New England 
States southward. It has the general characteristics of 
the rest of its species, but is not so hardy. It has smaller 
leaves, and more numerous and smaller cones. 
