(78) 



Nearest the Elevated Station there is a distinct group of four 

 trees. Of these the two nearer the station are 



Abies grandis, the Grand or Lowland Fir 



This species has very distinct foliage, which is conspicuously 

 pectinate, that is, it stands out on two sides of the branches as the 

 teeth of a comb and the needles are quite long. 



The Grand or Great Fir. native to the Northwest from Van- 

 couver Island to northern California and east to Montana, is one 

 of the biggest trees of the country, attaining a height sometimes 

 of 300 feet. This tree, too, is not very satisfactory as an orna- 

 mental in this part of the country. 



The other two trees in this group are Tomomi Firs (p. 75). 



There remain now six more fir trees a few steps northward. 

 The first we come to is a Nordmann's Fir (p. 74), and then 

 comes a row of three extending westward. The one nearest the 

 road is another Nordmann's and the middle one is a Nikko Fir. 



The last specimen in the row nearest the railroad tracks is 



Abies Picea var. pendula, the Weeping Silver-Fir 



This is a pendulous form of the Silver Fir of central and 

 southern Europe. 



O'f the two remaining firs in the last row the one nearest the 

 railroad is a Cilician Fir and the other is a Nikko Fir. 



General Discussion 



There are about 35 different kinds of fir trees distributed in 

 northern and mountainous regions of the Northern Hemisphere. 

 They are all evergreen and to a great degree cold climate trees, 

 though in the New World they extend as far south as Guatemala 

 and in the Old World to North Africa and the Himalayas. 



The firs are easily distinguished from the pines by not having 

 their leaves in clusters. From the spruces they differ in having 

 smoother twigs and trunk since the fallen needles leave only a 

 scar and no spiny stalk. Furthermore, the cones of firs, when 

 present, stand erect on the branches while those of spruces hang 

 down. 



