CHAPTER XXX. 



COMMON OR NORWAY SPRUCE OR "WHITE FIR" 

 {Picea excelsd) 



Is very abundant upon the mountain slopes in Norway, 

 and throughout Europe down to the Alps, and prefers 

 generally a damp climate and moist soil to bring it 

 to the greatest perfection. In such situations, it fre- 

 quently reaches to a height of 80 to 130 feet, with a 

 circumference of 3 to 5 feet. It may also be found 

 upon most of the mountainous parts of the North 

 of Europe, and is abundant in North America. The 

 Spruce Fir is an evergreen, and assumes in open ground 

 a beautiful pyramidal form, with the lower branches 

 drooping nearly to the ground ; the leaves are solitary 

 and very short, and the cones long and pendulous, 

 with the scales thin at the edges. It will thus be easily 

 distinguished from the Pines, which have their leaves 

 clustered in twos or threes, and cones of quite different 

 characters. V 



The wood, which is commonly known as White Deal,* 



* Deal is a word with regard to which the reader may be put on his guard, 

 as it is often loosely applied to very different timbers. White deal is the wood 

 of the Norway Spruce {Picea excelsd). Yellow deal is the wood of the Norway 

 Pine [Pittus sylvesiris), but it is often called Red deal. Strictly speaking, the 

 word deal refers to these woods cut to particular sises, &c., and not to the 

 timber itself. 



