130 
DOUGLAS’S SPRUCE FIR. 
which in all its dimensions may almost vie with the loftiest 
pyramids of art. Its vast arms spread out in wide circles 
often nearly from the ground ; at other times they issue 
from the summit of a tall colossal shaft. In general the 
conic outline is regularly preserved, and stage upon stage, 
the branches decreasing in length, finish by a pre-eminent 
tuft at a height which astonishes the beholder. It was one 
of these trees, in all probability, which Lewis and Clarke 
found near the shores of the Pacific to measure near upon 
300 feet. The trunk measures from 6 to 15 feet in diameter. 
Of the prostrate stump lying at Fort George, near the mouth 
of the Oregon, noticed by Douglas, 150 feet still remained, 
without any branches, and it gave a circumference of 48 
feet at 3 feet from the ground. Its ordinary height is 150 
to 200 feet. The bark of the young trees, like that of the 
Balm of Gilead Fir, has its receptacles filled with a clear 
yellow and aromatic resin, the older bark is rugged, deeply 
furrowed, and from 9 to 15 inches in thickness. The 
leaves strongly resemble those of the Balm of Gilead or 
Balsam Fir. The cones are about 3 inches long, terminal 
and single, composed of a very small number of wide, 
rounded, entire, persistent scales, from between which are 
seen to issue the remarkable, at length reflected, trifid 
bractes, of which the central segment is slender and elon- 
gated. The leaves about one inch long, are rather nume- 
rous, spread out in two directions and in several rows, 
dark green above and silvery beneath. The male catkins 
are short, dense, and roundish. The anthers obcordate, 
very short, 2-celled, the crest very short, obtuse, tuber- 
cular. 
The timber is heavy and firm, with few knots, about as 
yellow nearly as that of the Yew r , and not liable to warp. 
Planks have been sawn of it at Fort Vancouver, where a 
saw-mill has been established, but I am not aware of their 
quality. Its rate of growth in London appears to be nearly 
