Thk Fir. 



Firs lose, from any cause, their leading shoot, the remaining 

 part of that shoot ought to be cut clean out with a sharp 

 knife ; and they will presently, in one of the side- branches, 

 find a new leader, without giving you any trouble. 



259. There remains now, under this head, little more to 

 do than to give a list of the several sorts of Firs that I think 

 worth planting in England ; just observing here, that the 

 Larch is to be spoken of in its proper place, and that the 

 Cedar of Lebanon, which is certainly a Fir, is, in all respects, 

 propagated and cultivated like the Fir, but that, though a 

 most magnificent ornamental tree, never can, from the 

 badness of its timber, be planted as an article of profit. I 

 shall begin with the Spruce Firs, and then come to the 

 Pines. 



260. 1. The Norway Spruce Fir {Abies Picea), which 

 has a large long cone, and is very common in England. 

 2. The Balm of Gilead Fir (Mies Balsamica) , which has 

 a shorter cone and thicker leaf. 3. The White Spruce 

 of North America {Abies Jlba), with a narrow cone about 

 an inch and a half long. 4. The American Black or 

 Double Spruce {Abies ISigra), with a cone about an inch 

 and a quarter long, and bigger round than the last-men- 

 tioned. 5. The American Silver Fir {Abies Balsamifera), 

 The cone of this Fir is about three inches long, and the tips of 

 the scales are of a silver-like colour. The leaves are white on 

 the under side, so that this is a very beautiful tree. 6. The 

 Hemlock Spruce {Abies Canadensis). The leaves of this 

 Spruce are shorter and smaller than those of the other sorts, 

 and the cone is not much more than half an inch long, and 

 proportionably small in circumference. 



261. With regard to the first of these, namely, the Nor- 



