2334 ARBORETUM AND FRUTICETUM. PART III. 



" Casus abics visura marines. M Gcorg., ii. 68. 



The fir about to brave the dangers of the seas. 

 And in CUnulian, — 



" Apta fretis abies." 

 The fir useful in ship-building. 



In the Eclogues, Virgil says, alluding to the situations in which it grows, — 



" Pulcherrima . . . 



abies in montibus altis." Eel, vii. 66. 



The abies is the most beautiful tree on lofty mountains. 



In the JEneid he says, 



Undique colles 



Inclusere cavi, et nigra nemus abiete cingunt." 7En., viii. 599. 



" Hills clad with fir, to guard the hallow'd bound, 

 Rise in the majesty of darkness round." PiWs trans. 



The wood was employed by the ancients for many different purposes. Pliny 

 speaks of it in several places. It is preferred to that of the larch, he says, for 

 the masts of vessels, on account of its lightness. In his ICth book, he 

 speaks of a silver fir that formed the mast of a vessel on board which the 

 Emperor Caligula had an obelisk transported from Egypt to Rome. This 

 mast required the outstretched arms of four men to encircle it, and cost 

 80,000 sesterces, or about 30/. The Romans employed the silver fir for jave- 

 lins, as appears by the following lines from Virgil : — 



" Cujus apertum 



Adversi longa transverberat abiete pectus. " JEn. t xi. 666. 



Whose breast exposed the long fir spear transpierced. 



The resinous products of the silver fir were also well known to Theophrastus 

 and Pliny, who both detail the modes practised by the Greeks and Romans 

 in preparing pitch and tar, which scarcely differ at all from those in common 

 use at the present clay. 



The silver fir was introduced into England in the seventeenth century ; 

 but the precise period is not known. Plot and Ray mention some trees 

 growing near Newport in Shropshire ; and Evelyn speaks of two Spanish or 

 silver firs growing in Harefield Park, Middlesex, that were planted there in 

 1603, at two years' growth from the seed. The tree was strongly recom- 

 mended by Evelyn for its beauty, and its fitness to adorn walks and avenues ; 

 and it has, accordingly, been very generally planted for ornamental purposes. 

 In 1797, the Society of Arts gave their gold medal to Henry Vernon, Esq., 

 of Hilton Park, near Wolverhampton, for having planted upwards of 6000 

 silver firs. As this tree ripens seeds freely, it is now common in the nurseries, 

 and very generally introduced into plantations, especially such as are orna- 

 mental ; and, in grounds laid out before the middle of the eighteenth century, 

 it may seen near mansions, rearing its fine pyramidal head above all other 

 trees. 



Properties and Uses. The wood of the silver fir is elastic, and the colour 

 is whitish. The grain is irregular, as the fibres which compose it are partly 

 white and tender, and partly yellow, or fawn-coloured, and hard. The narrower 

 the white lines are, the more beautiful and solid is the grain of the wood. 

 In the Vosges, it is said that the external layers are more compact than the 

 internal ones ; which may arise from the practice of barking the trees there 

 before they are cut down. The weight of this wood varies exceedingly, 

 >rding to the age of the tree, the place where it grew, and even the part 

 of the trunk from which it was taken. According to Hartig, the wood of a 

 tree 80 years old weighs 66 lb. 14 oz. per cubic foot green, and 41 lb. 5 oz. 

 when dry; while that of a tree 40 years old weighs only 37 lb. 9 oz. when 

 dry. It shrinks considerably in drying, like all white woods. It is used for 

 plank-., and carpentry of all kinds; for the masts of small vessels; for joists 

 and rafters ; and for building the boats used for navigating rivers. It is said 

 to endure a long time when used as piles, and to be much employed in Hoi- 



