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FIR , the Scandinavian name originally given to the Scotch See also:pine (Pirtus sylvesfris), but at See also:present not infrequently employed as a See also:general See also:term for the whole of the true conifers (Abietineae) ; in a more exact sense, it has been transferred to the " spruce
and " See also:silver firs," the genera Picea and Abies of most See also:modern botanists.
The firs are distinguished from the pines and larches by having their See also:needle-like leaves placed singly on the shoots, instead of growing in clusters from a sheath on a See also:dwarf See also:branch. Their cones are composed of thin, rounded, closely imbricated scales, each with a more or less conspicuous bract springing from the See also:base. The trees have usually a straight See also:trunk, and a tendency to a conical or pyramidal growth, throwing out each See also:year a more or less See also:regular whorl of branches from the See also:foot of the leading shoot, while the buds of the lateral boughs extend horizontally.
In the spruce firs (Picea), the cones are pendent when mature and their scales persistent; the leaves are arranged all See also:round the shoots, though the See also:lower ones are sometimes directed laterally. In the genus Abies, the silver firs, the cones are erect, and their scales drop off when the See also:seed ripens; the leaves spread in distinct rows on each See also:side of the shoot.
The most important of the firs, in an economic sense, is the See also:Norway spruce (Picea excelsa), so well known in See also:British plantations, though rarely attaining there the gigantic height and grandeur of See also:form it often displays in its native See also:woods. Under favourable conditions of growth it is a lofty See also:tree, with a nearly straight, tapering trunk, throwing out in somewhat irregular whorls its widespreading branches, densely clothed with dark, clear See also:green foliage. The boughs and their side-branches, as they increase in length, have a tendency to droop, the lower tier, even in large trees, often sweeping the ground—a See also:habit that, with the jagged sprays, and broad, shadowy, See also:wave-like foliage-masses, gives a peculiarly graceful and picturesque aspect to the Norway spruce. The slender, See also:sharp, slightly curved leaves are scattered thickly around the shoots; the upper one pressed towards the See also:stem, and the lower directed sideways, so as to give a somewhat flattened See also:appearance to the individual sprays. The elongated cylindrical cones grow chiefly at the ends of the upper branches; they are purplish at first, but become afterwards green, andeventually See also:light See also: On the Swiss See also:Alps it is one of the most prevalent and striking of the See also:forest trees, its dark See also:evergreen foliage often See also:standing out in strong contrast to the snowy ridges and glaciers beyond. In the lower districts of See also:Sweden it is the predominant tree in most of the See also:great forests that spread over so large a portion of that See also:country. In Norway it constitutes a considerable See also:part of the dense woods of the See also:southern dales, flourishing, according to See also:Franz See also:Christian Schiibeler, on the mountain slopes up to an See also:altitude of from 2800 to 3100 ft., and clothing the shores of some of the fjords to the See also:water's edge; in the higher regions it is generally mingled with the pine. Less abundant on the western side of the fjelds, it again forms woods in Nordland, extending
in the neighbourhood of the See also:coast nearly to the 67th parallel but it is, in that arctic See also:climate, rarely met with at a greater See also:elevation than 800 ft. above the See also:sea, though in See also:Swedish See also:Lapland it is found on the slope of the See also:Sulitelma as high as 1200 ft., its upper limit being everywhere lower than that of the pine. In all the Scandinavian countries it is known as the Gran or Gratin. Great tracts of See also:low country along the southern shores of the Baltic and in northern See also:Russia are covered with forests of spruce. It everywhere shows a preference for a moist but well-drained See also:soil, and never attains its full stature or luxuriance of growth upon arid ground, whether on See also:plain or mountain—a peculiarity that should be remembered by the planter. In a favourable soil and open situation it becomes the tallest and one of the stateliest of See also:European trees, rising sometimes to a height of from 150 to 170 ft., the trunk attaining a See also:diameter of from 5 to 6 ft. at the base. But when it grows in dense woods, where the lower branches decay and drop off See also:early, only a small See also:head of foliage remaining at the tapering See also:summit, its stem, though frequently of great height, is rarely more than 11 or 2 ft. in thickness. Its growth is rapid, the straight leading shoot, in the vigorous See also:period of the tree, often extending 24 or even 3 ft_ in a single See also:season. In its native habitats it is said to endure for several centuries; but in those countries from which the commercial See also:supply of its See also:timber is chiefly See also:drawn, it attains perfection in from 70 to 90 years, according to soil and situation.
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In the most prevalent variety of the Norway spruce the See also:wood is See also: Immense quantities are imported into See also:Britain from Norway, Sweden and See also:Prussia, under the names of " white Norway," " See also:Christiania " and " See also:Danzig See also:deal." The larger trees are sawn up into planks and battens, much used for the purposes of the builder, especially for flooring, joists and rafters. Where not exposed to the See also:weather the wood is probably as lasting as that of the pine, but, not being so resinous, appears less adapted for out-See also:door uses. Great quantities are sent from Sweden in a manufactured See also:state, in the form of door and window-frames and ready-prepared flooring, and much of the cheap " white deal " See also:furniture is made of this wood. The younger and smaller trees are remarkably durable, especially when the bark is allowed to remain on them; and most of the poles imported into Britain for scaffolding, ladders, See also:mining-timber and similar uses are furnished by this fir. Small masts and spars are often made of it, and are said to be lighter than those of pine. The best poles are obtained in Norway from small, slender, drawn-up trees, growing under the shade of the larger ones in the thick woods, these being freer from knots, and tougher from their slower growth. A variety of the spruce, abounding in some parts of Nor-way, produces a red heartwood, not easy to distinguish from that of the Norway pine (Scotch fir), and imported with it into See also:England as " red deal " or " pine." This See also:kind is some-times seen in plantations, where it may be recognized by its shorter, darker leaves and longer cones. The smaller branches and the See also:waste portion of the trunks, See also:left in cutting up the timber, are exported as See also:fire-wood, or used for splitting into matches. The wood of the spruce is also employed in the manufacture of wood-pulp for See also:paper. The resinous products of the Norway spruce, though yielded by the tree in less abundance than those furnished by the pine, are of considerable economic value. In Scandinavia a thick See also:turpentine oozes from cracks or fissures in the bark, forming by its congelation a fine yellow See also:resin, known commercially as " spruce See also:rosin," or " See also:frankincense "; it is also procured artificially by cutting off the ends of the lower branches, when it slowly exudes from the extremities. In See also:Switzerland and parts of See also:Germany, where it is collected in some quantity for See also:commerce, a See also:long See also:strip of bark is cut out of the tree near the See also:root; the resin that slowly accumulates during the summer is scraped out in the latter part of the season, and the slit enlarged slightly the following spring to ensure a continuance of the supply. The See also:process is repeated every alternate year, until the tree no longer yields the resin in abundance, which under favourable circumstances it will do for twenty years or more. The quantity obtained from each fir is very variable, depending on the vigour of the tree, and greatly lessens after it has been subjected to the operation for some years. Eventually the tree is destroyed,and the wood rendered worthless for timber, and of little value even for See also:fuel. From the product so obtained most of the better sort of " See also:Burgundy See also:pitch " of the druggists is prepared. By the peasantry tf its native countries the Norway spruce is applied to innumerable purposes of daily See also:life. The bark and See also:young cones afford a tanning material, inferior indeed to See also:oak-bark, and hardly equal to that of the See also:larch, but of value in countries where substances more See also:rich in See also:tannin are not abundant. In Norway the sprays, like those of the See also:juniper, are scattered over the floors of churches and the sitting-rooms of dwelling-houses, as a fragrant and healthful substitute for See also:carpet or See also:matting. The young shoots are also given to oxen in the long winters of those northern latitudes, when other green See also:fodder is hard to obtain. In times of scarcity the Norse See also:peasant-See also:farmer uses the sweetish inner bark, beaten in a See also:mortar and ground in his See also:primitive See also: The wood is burned for fuel, its See also:heat-giving See also:power being reckoned in Germany about one-See also:fourth less than that of See also:beech. From the wide-spreading roots See also:string and See also:ropes are manufactured in Lapland and See also:Bothnia: the longer ones which run near the See also:surface are selected, split through, and then boiled for some See also:hours in a ley of wood-ashes and See also:salt, which, dissolving out the resin, loosens the See also:fibres and renders them easily separable, and ready for twisting into cordage. Light portable boats are sometimes made of very thin boards of fir, sewn together with See also:cord thus manufactured from the roots of the tree.
The Norway spruce seems to have been the " Picea " of See also:Pliny, but is evidently often confused by the Latin writers with their " Abies," the Abies pectinata of modern botanists. From an equally loose application of the word " fir " by our older herbalists, it is difficult to decide upon the date of introduction of this tree into Britain; but it was commonly planted for ornamental purposes in the beginning of the 17th See also:century. In places suited to its growth it seems to flourish nearly as well as in the woods of Norway or Switzerland; but as it needs for its successful cultivation as a timber tree soils that might be turned to agricultural See also:account, it is not so well adapted for economic planting in Britain as the Scotch fir or larch, which come to perfection in more See also:bleak and elevated regions, and on comparatively barren ground, though it may perhaps be grown to See also:advantage on some moist See also: The spruce bears the See also:smoke of great cities better than most of the Abietineae; but in suburban localities after a certain See also:age it soon loses its healthy appearance, and is apt to be affected with blight (Eriosoma), though not so much as the Scotch fir and most of the pines. The See also:black spruce (Picea See also:nigra) is a tree of more formal growth than the preceding. The branches grow at a more acute See also:angle Fm. 2.-Norway Spruce (Picea excelsa). Cones; See also:scale with seeds. A, Branch bearing (a) young See also:female cones, (b) ripe cones, reduced. B, Ripe See also:cone scale with seeds, enlarged. and in more regular whorls than those of the Norway spruce; and, though the lower ones become See also:bent to a See also:horizontal position, they do not droop, so that the tree has a much less elegant appearance. The leaves, which grow very thickly all round the stem, are See also:short, nearly quadrangular, and of a dark greyish-green, The cones, produced in great abundance, are short and See also:oval in shape, the scales with rugged indented edges; they are deep See also:purple when young, but become brown as they ripen. The tree also occurs in the New England states and extends over nearly the whole of British See also:North See also:America, its northern limit occurring at about 67° N. See also:lat., often forming a large part of the dense forests, mostly in the swampy districts. A variety with lighter foliage and reddish bark is common in See also:Newfoundland and some districts on the mainland adjacent. The trees usually grow very close together, the slender trunks rising to a great height See also:bare of branches; but they do not attain the size of the Norway spruce, being seldom taller than 6o or 70 ft., with a diameter of 12 or 2 ft. at the base. This See also:species prefers a peaty soil, and often grows luxuriantly in very moist situations. The wood is strong, light and very elastic, forming an excellent material for small masts and spars, for which purpose the trunks are used in America, and exported largely to England. The sawn timber is inferior to that of P. excelsa, besides being of a smaller size. In the countries in which it abounds, the See also:log-houses of the settlers are often built of the long straight trunks. The spruce-beer of America is generally made from the young shoots of this tree. The small twigs, tied in bundles, are boiled for some See also:time in water with broken See also:biscuit or roasted grain; the resulting decoction is then poured into a cask with See also:molasses or See also:maple See also:sugar and a little yeast, and left to ferment. It is often made by the settlers and fishermen of the St See also:Lawrence region, being esteemed as a preventive of scurvy. The See also:American " essence of spruce," occasionally used in England for making spruce-beer, is obtained by boiling the shoots and buds and concentrating the decoction. The resinous products of the tree are of no great value. It was introduced into Britain at the end of the 17th century. The white spruce (Picea See also:alba), sometimes met with in English plantations, is a tree of lighter growth than the black spruce, the branches being more widely apart; the foliage is of a light glaucous green; the small light-brown cones are more slender and tapering than in P. nigra, and the scales have even edges. It is of comparatively small size, but is of some importance in the wilds of the See also:Canadian dominion, where it is found to the northern limit of tree-vegetation growing up to at least 69° the slender trunks yield the only useful timber of some of the more desolate northern regions. In the woods of See also:Canada it occurs frequently mingled with the black spruce and other trees. The fibrous tough roots, softened by soaking in water, and split, are used by the See also:Indians and voyageurs to sew together the See also:birch-bark covering of their canoes; and a resin that exudes from the bark is employed to See also:varnish over the seams. It was introduced to Great Britain at the end of the 17th century and was formerly more extensively planted than at present. The See also:hemlock spruce (Tsuga canadensis) is a large tree, abounding in most of the north-eastern parts of America up to Labrador; in lower Canada, New See also:Brunswick and Nova See also:Scotia it is often the prevailing tree. The short leaves are See also:flat, those above pressed close to the stem, and the others forming two rows; they are of a rather light green tint above, whitish beneath. The cones are very small, ovate and pointed. The large branches droop, like those of the Norway spruce, but the sprays are much lighter and more slender, rendering the tree one of the most elegant of the conifers, especially when young. When old, the branches, broken and bent down by the See also:winter snows, give it a ragged but very picturesque aspect. The trunk is frequently 3 ft. thick near the base. The hemlock prefers rather dry and elevated situations, often forming woods on the declivities of mountains. The timber is very much See also:twisted in grain, and liable to warp and split, but is used for making plasterers' laths and for See also:fencing; " shingles " for roofing are sometimes made of it. The bark, split off in May or See also:June, forms one of the mostvaluable tanning substances in Canada. The sprays are some-times used for making spruce-beer and essence of spruce. It was introduced into Great Britain in about the year 1736. The See also:Douglas spruce (Pseudo-tsuga Douglasii), one of the finest conifers, often rises to a height of 200 ft. and sometimes considerably more, while the gigantic trunk frequently See also:measures 8 or 10 ft. across. The See also:yew-like leaves spread laterally, and are of a deep green tint; the cones are furnished with tridentate bracts that project far beyond the scales. It forms extensive forests in See also:Vancouver See also:Island, British See also:Columbia and See also:Oregon, whence the timber is exported, being highly prized for its strength, durability and even grain, though very heavy; it is of a deep yellow colour, abounding in resin, which oozes from the thick bark. It was introduced into Britain soon after its rediscovery by See also:David Douglas in 1827, and has been widely planted, but does not flourish well where exposed to high winds or in too shallow soil. Of the Abies See also:group, the silver fir (A. pectinata), may be taken as the type,—a lofty tree, rivalling the Norway spruce in size, with large spreading horizontal boughs curving upward toward the extremities. The flat leaves are arranged in two regular, distinct rows; they are deep green above, but beneath have two broad white lines, which, as the foliage in large trees has a tendency to curl upwards, give it a silvery appearance from below. The large cones stand erect on the branches, are cylindrical in shape, and have long bracts, the curved points of which project beyond the scales. When the tree is young the bark is of a silvery See also:grey, but gets rough with age. This tree appears to have been the true " Abies " of the Latin writers—the " pulcherrima abies " of See also:Virgil. From early historic times it has been held in high estimation in the See also:south of Europe, being used by the See also:Romans for masts and all purposes for which timber of great length was required. It is abundant in most of the mountain ranges of southern and central Europe, but is not found in the northern parts of that See also:continent. In Asia it occurs on the See also:Caucasus and Ural, and in some parts of the Altaic See also:chain. Extensive woods of this fir exist on the southern Alps, where the tree grows up to nearly 4000 ft.; in the See also:Rhine countries it forms great part of the extensive forest of the Hochwald, and occurs in the Black Forest and in the See also:Vosges; it is plentiful likewise on the See also:Pyrenees and See also:Apennines. The wood is inferior to that of Picea excelsa, but, being soft and easily worked, is largely employed in the countries to which it is indigenous for all the purposes of See also:carpentry. Articles of furniture are frequently made of it, and it is in great esteem for See also:carving and for the construction of stringed See also:instruments. Deficient in resin, the wood is more perishable than that of the spruce fir when exposed to the See also:air, though it is said to stand well under water. The bark contains a large amount of a fine, highly-resinous turpentine, which collects in tumours on the trunk during the heat of summer. In the Alps and Vosges this resinous semi-fluid is collected by climbing the trees and pressing out the contents of the natural receptacles of the bark into See also:horn or See also:tin vessels held beneath them. After See also:purification by straining, it is sold as " Strasburg turpentine," much used in the preparation of some of the finer varnishes. Burgundy pitch is also prepared from it by a similar process as that from Picea excelsa. A fine oil of turpentine is distilled from the crude material; the See also:residue forms a coarse resin. Introduced into Britain at the beginning of the 17th century, the silver fir has become common there as a planted tree, though, like the Norway spruce, it rarely comes up from seed scattered naturally. There are many fine trees in See also:Scotland; one near Roseneath, figured by See also:Strutt in his Sylva Britannica, then measured more than 22 ft. round the trunk. In the more southern parts of the island it often reaches a height of 90 ft., and specimens exist considerably above that size; but the young shoots are apt to be injured in severe winters, and the tree on light soils is also hurt by long droughts, so that it usually presents a ragged appearance; though, in the distance, the lofty See also:top and horizontal boughs sometimes stand out in most picturesque See also:relief above the rounded summits of the neighbouring trees. The silver fir flourishes in a deep loamy soil, and will grow even upon stiff See also:clay, when well drained—a situation in 'which few conifers will succeed. On such lands, where otherwise desirable, it may sometimes be planted with profit. The cones do not ripen till the second year. The silver fir of Canada (A. balsamea), a small tree resembling the last species in foliage, furnishes the " Canada See also:balsam "; it abounds in See also:Quebec and the adjacent provinces. Numerous other firs are common in gardens and shrubberies, and some furnish valuable products in their native countries; but they are not yet of sufficient economic .or general See also:interest to demand mention here. For further See also:information see See also:Veitch's See also:Manual of Coniferae (and ed., 1900). Additional information and CommentsThere are no comments yet for this article.
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