\6i 



FLORA AND SYLVA. 



is very wide, and forms from west to 

 east a long zone, embracing more than 

 a third of the northern hemisphere, 

 from Spain up to and beyond the Lena. 

 The southern limit of its range reaches 

 the Sierra Nevada, and its polar limit is 

 a short distance beyond Cape Nord, in 

 Lapland. Within this area its distribu- 

 tion is very irregular, diminishing from 

 the N.E., where, by itself or with other 

 races, it forms immense forests. Within 

 its northern area the Scotch Fir is a tree 

 of the plain; under the 70th degree of 

 latitude it is never found at a greater 

 height than 681 feet, but as one goes 

 south it is seen at higher altitudes, thus, 

 in the Vosges, at 2,700 feet; in the 

 Cevennes 3,300 feet, in the Pyrenees 

 6,000 feet ; and as it rises it quits the 

 plains and hill-sides never to descend 

 (spontaneously) below a certain limit. 

 It is, therefore, a tree of the mountains 

 over a great part of its area. It thrives 

 best in situations sheltered from the 

 more violent winds, in a clear atmo- 

 sphere, and on southern exposures. 



In the plains, deep, cool, sandy 

 soils and loams suit the Scotch Fir best. 

 On the warmer slopes it grows well 

 even in sand, where no other species 

 would thrive, on condition, however, 

 that the subsoil contains sufficient 

 moisture for its wants ; and it will even 

 thrive in peat soils with the exception 

 of very acid peat. Chalky hills and 

 plains are unfavourable to it, the soil 

 and subsoil of such places being imper- 

 meable and at the mercy of the summer 

 droughts. On the mountains, however, 

 it does well in sandstone, granite, ba- 

 salt, schist, and limestone, and is un- 



affected by the mineral elements in the 

 soil, so long as it finds the coolness that 

 is necessary to it. It is useful for plant- 

 ing waste lands, arid slopes of southern 

 exposure, and forest heath lands. 



Of its wood, Mathieu (" Flore Fo- 

 restiere") says : — " The sap wood and 

 the heart wood are clearly marked in 

 the Scotch Fir. The first, which is yel- 

 lowish and of bad quality, varies much 

 in thickness according to the age of the 

 tree, the soil, and conditions of growth. 

 It is especially abundant in trees of vi- 

 gorous growth in rich soils, and may, 

 in fact, form the whole substance of 

 the tree up to a fairly good age. The 

 heart wood, which alone is of value, is 

 rosy red or russet. The resin ducts are 

 numerous and most strongly marked 

 longitudinally. The turpentine, which 

 is fluid in the sap wood, and flows freely 

 from incisions, becomes hardened into 

 a brown resin in the heart wood, of 

 which it more or less impregnates the 

 tissues and ensures their great dura- 

 bility. No wood is so good for the 

 masts of ships, seeing that in addition 

 to its dimensions it has elasticity and 

 lightness, great resisting power and en- 

 durance. To fit it for this purpose, how- 

 ever, the stem should be straight and 

 slender,free from knots, formed of equal 

 annual growths, and perfectly seasoned. 

 It should also be resinous to ensure du- 

 rability, yet not so much so as to make 

 it heavy and brittle. The northern cli- 

 mates with their short period of vegeta- 

 tion, long days and regular seasons, are 

 the only ones which produce timber 

 suited for this important purpose. The 

 wood is as enduring as that of the best 



