(79) 



The firs may be conveniently divided into two groups according 

 as the tips of the needles are single-pointed or double-pointed by a 

 tiny cleft. 



Of a dozen different species having single-pointed leaves, four 

 are in the Garden, viz. : 



A. ccplialonica, Greek Fir of Greece 

 A. concolor, White Fir of the western United States 

 A. lasiocarpa, Alpine Fir of the western United States 

 A. nobilis. Noble Fir of western North America 



Of about twenty-five kinds with double-pointed leaves, six are in 

 the Garden, viz. : 



A. Mom!, Momi Fir of Japan 



A. homolepis, Nikko Fir of Japan 



A. grandis, Grand Fir of western North America 



A. N ordmanniana, Nordmann Fir of Caucasus 



A. VeitchU, Veitch Fir of Japan 



A. cilicica, Cilician Fir of Asia Minor 



Of the nine species of fir indigenous to the United States, only 

 two occur in the East, neither of which is in the collection. They 

 are the common Balsam Fir found in the Northeast and extending 

 well into the West, A. balsamea, and the Fraser fir, A. Fraseri, that 

 has a rather limited range at high elevations in the Appalachian 

 region from West Virginia to North Carolina and Tennessee. 



Of the seven western species, four occur in the Garden. The 

 three lacking species are the Red Fir, Abies magiiifiica, one of the 

 tallest firs of the Pacific Coast; the Bristle-cone Fir, A. venusta, 

 that occurs in west central California; and the Cascade Fir, A. 

 amabilis. 



The firs are characterized, in one respect, by peculiar exudations 

 from the resin vesicles in the bark. These exudations appear as 

 blisters on the trunks and branches of the trees and when punc- 

 tured yield their contents. In the north woods this juice is col- 

 lected at certain times of the year from the Common Balsam. A. 

 balsamea, and manufactured into Canada balsam, a preparation 

 much used as a transparent cement in microscopic slide work. 



Though possessing some timber value, these trees are of less 

 lumber importance as a whole than the pines and spruces. The 

 wood is soft and perishable and generally inferior. In Europe the 



