390 



THE SILVER FIR. 



is a sort of harsh, stiff, unbending formality in the 

 stem, the branches, and the whole economy of the 

 tree, which makes it disagreeable. We rarely see 

 it, even in its happiest state, assume a picturesque 

 shape ; assisted it may be in its form when 



CONES OF SILVER FIR. 



broken and shattered, but it will rarely get rid of 

 its formality. In old age it stands the best chance 

 of attaining beauty. We sometimes see it, under 

 that circumstance, a noble shattered tree, finely 

 adorned with ivy, and shooting out a few hori- 

 zontal branches, on which its meagre foliage and 

 tufted moss appear to advantage."* This formal 

 character is to be attributed to the horizontal 

 direction of its branches from the main stem, and 

 to the same position of the spray with reference 



* Gilpin. 



