The "Human Interest" in Firs— By Thomas McAdam, jx 



AN ATTEMPT TO GET AWAY FROM THE DRY-ROT OF BOTANY AND DISCOVER THE MOST BEAUTIFUL PERSONALI- 

 TIES AMONG EVERGREENS, THEIR COMPARATIVE MERITS AND LIMITATIONS, AND THE SECRET OF THEIR CHARM 



[Editor's Note. — This is the 2yd of the "Little Monographs" of garden genera, but we henceforth shall rarely use such titles as "All the Worth Growing," for two 



reasons: The "best" for one climate is not the best for another. And the practical effect of this series seems to be to, stimulate the collecting spirit. For example, within a week after 

 this article is published amateurs will write us asking where they can buy "every kind of fir there is." Plants don't cost much compared with the "fun" a person gets out of them, 

 and the best part of the game is in making one's own judgments instead of deferring to some stuffy old authority. The chances are that you can't grow what he says you can't. 

 But it is a heap of fun to fool him.] 



T^HE human interest in firs is easily 

 ■*• felt, and every species has its own 

 charm which can be definitely expressed in 

 words. But there is no one characteristic 

 beauty that is common to all firs. Of 

 course, all firs are attractive both summer 

 and winter, but so are other evergreen trees. 

 All firs make pyramids of remarkable sym- 



The feathery texture of A. concolor is due to the 

 long, soft leaf (2 inches long). Contrast with an 

 ordinary fir 04 inch long) 



metry, but that is not unusual among 

 conifers. Firs, as a class, are often accused 

 of stiffness, yet the Colorado white fir is one 

 of the softest and most feathery of all ever- 

 greens. The truth is that the undeniable 

 stiffness of many firs is an important ele- 

 ment in their character, for conifers would 

 be monotonous if they were all of graceful 

 habit and plumy texture. We need strong, 

 virile types also, and firs excel in a certain 

 military precision. Like many other coni- 

 fers they have leaves with silvery linings 

 which certainly add to the cheerfulness of 

 these trees. In repose they show little or 

 nothing of this beauty, but when a strong 

 breeze brings myriads of these surfaces to 

 view, firs awake to a great and stirring 

 beauty, which is all the more surprising 

 because one expects nothing of the sort 

 from stiff trees with short needles. 



A collection of firs may be a source of 

 daily pleasure for about thirty years, or 

 during the "juvenile stage" in the life of 

 these trees. First comes the symmetrical 

 or beautiful period of a conifer's life. Then 

 comes the "transitional period" when the 

 lower branches are lost, and the tree has 

 an unkempt, half-grown look. Finally 

 comes the picturesque stage, when there is 

 an irregular tuft of foliage at the top and 

 the tree looks like a battle-scarred veteran. 

 It is only on large estates that a collection 



of conifers should reach the final stage. On a 

 small place, say thirty acres or less, it 

 would be seriously out of proportion to 

 have many hundred-foot trees. Conse- 

 quently, most people are interested in pro- 

 longing the beautiful stage of conifers as 

 long as possible. This can be done by 

 sheltering the collection behind a windbreak, 

 giving every species plenty of room, and 

 trimming the new growth every summer. 



THE SHOWIEST, MOST GRACEFUL FIR 



There can be no question as to what is 

 the best fir for cultivation in the North and 

 East. It is the Colorado white fir (Abies 

 concolor). This is the showiest of all the 

 firs, because it is the nearest to blue. I am 

 afraid that the Dutchmen will some time 

 give us a variety of it that will be as blue 

 as the Colorado blue spruce. At present, 

 however, there is less danger of overdoing 

 the concolor fir, because its color is not so 

 startlingly different from that of vegetation 

 in general. A quieter, but deeper pleasure 

 comes from noting the gradations in color 

 from greenish gray and silvery tones to the 

 bluish. In my opinion, the concolor fir 

 is the cheeriest of all evergreens in winter. 

 In grace of foliage it certainly ranks ahead 

 of the Colorado spruce, for that is stiff to the 

 point of harshness, while the concolor fir is 

 soft and feathery. This is largely due to the 

 flexibility of the leaf, but also to its extreme 

 length — two inches or more, which is 

 nearly twice the length of its nearest com- 

 petitor, and thrice the length of the majority. 



Three other good points has the concolor 

 fir. It retains its lower branches a long 

 time. It has no insect enemies or diseases. 

 And, in the language of Professor Sargent, 

 "Of all fir trees it best withstands heat and 

 drought." 



The only drawback to the concolor fir 

 is that you have to go to the nursery to 

 select a fine specimen. For many of the 

 trees have crooked trunks, because they 

 have been grafted from side shoots instead 

 of from leaders. Then, too, the price 

 varies according to the blueness. More- 

 over, the cheapest plants are likely to be 

 the Pacific Coast variety, which is not hardy 

 in the East. Easterners should be particular 

 to get the Coloradan form. People are 

 sometimes tempted by the catalogue name, 

 A. concolor, var. violacea, supposing it to 

 be a form with a violet foliage, but it is 

 the cones which have the purple color. 



THE MOST SPECTACULAR FIR 



The silver bark fir (A. Arizonica) is 

 unique in having a corky bark of spectacular 

 12 



whiteness, rivalling that of. the white birch. 

 The foliage also, is more or less silvery. 

 Although a native of Arizona, this species 

 may be hardy because it was found at an 

 altitude of 8,ooo feet or more. But it 

 is too soon to say anything definite about 

 its hardiness or garden value. 



THREE "BALSAMS" OR FRAGRANT FIRS 



All firs have leaves that are fragrant 

 when crushed, but the three following are 

 particularly celebrated for their high degree 

 of fragrance. 



The balsam fir of the North (A. balsamea) 

 is generally considered the most fragrant 

 of all evergreens. The characteristic odor 

 of far northern woods is chiefly, if not 

 solely, due to this fir. The young growths 

 are often used for making pillows. The 

 best Christmas trees are also furnished by 

 this species. But in cultivation it is a 

 grievous disappointment. Its loses its sym- 

 metry in three or four years,and as a lawn 

 tree is a total failure. Would that some 

 hybridizer could get the fragrance of it 

 into all our other evergreens! 



The Southern balsam (Abies Fraseri) is 

 claimed to be a better tree for cultivation 

 in the North than the northern balsam, 

 but I doubt if any advantage of prime 

 importance can be named. The specimen 



A striking object— the cones of the Cephalonian fir- 

 often six inches long 



