The Fir. 



that are cut out will yield a profit^ and, generally, a great 

 profit. The first thinnings will yield poles; the second, 

 rafters for out or temporary buildings ; and the subsequent 

 cuttings will, if the sort be pretty good, make narrow boards, 

 and stuff for various useful purposes. 



256. Firs will grow on the poorest of land, though not so 

 well as on good land. The Spruces come chiefly from the 

 barren rocky lands of North America ; and the lands, where 

 the Pines of America abound, are actually called Pine- 

 barrens, The Firs do not much like clay-land ; but they 

 will grow on it very well, and especially the Spruce-Firs. 

 Certainly, as articles of projit, they ought to be allowed 

 none but the worst lands ; for they yield in value of pro- 

 duce to almost every other sort of tree, if both be planted 

 upon tolerably good ground. 



257. Firs, if in a close plantation, ought to be kept pruned, 

 and according to the rule in paragraphs 127 Jind 149. The 

 prunings, tied up in fagots, pay well for the labour, and 

 they are by no means bad fuel for lime-kilns and brick- 

 kilns, and will burn better green than dry, whicb is a great 

 advantage. But, in this work of pruning, care ought to be 

 taken to cut close to the trunk, and with a sharp knife. 



258. When Firs are felled, their stems and roots ought 

 to be grubbed up ; for, like the Cedars and the Cypress, 

 the stems never throw out shoots; and these stems encum- 

 ber the ground, and do a great deal of mischief. It is the 

 same with the stems (or moors as they are sometimes called) 

 of all trees) but the stems of deciduous trees will generally 

 throw out new shoots, some of which, as in the case of the 

 Oak, will become trees ; but Firs never throw out any shoots 

 at all : when once cut down, they are gone for ever. When 



