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ARBORETUM AND FRUTICETUM.

PART m.

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Fig. 2220. is a view of a lake,and the surrounding hills and moun-tains, near Wasbotten, between thetowns of Porsgrund and Laurwig,showing the spruce fir, togetherwith some groups and masses ofScotch pine on mountain scenery.

Fig. 2221. is a view on the roadfrom Porsgrund to Laurwig, not farfrom the town of Porsgrund, whichshows the effect of the spruce fir onlow hills and in bottoms.

Fig. 2222. is a view of IlloeFors, near Schion, showing an ex-tensive forest of Scotch pine on anextent of table land, with groups ofthe spruce, as contrasted with those of the birch; and showing the fine effectof the latter tree when standing singly, or in small loose groups. In thisrespect, indeed, the birch differs from most other trees, at no period of itsgrowth having a picturesque effect in masses.

History. Pliny frequently men-tions the spruce fir, which he callspicea (whence the French namesE'picea and Sapin- Pesse), andwhich, he says, produced tears ofresin that could scarcely be dis-tinguished from incense. lie alsomentions its use in funeral ceremo-nies, on which occasions a branchwas placed at the door of the houseof the deceased; and informs usthat it was used when green for thefuneral pile.

Though the spruce fir is generally allowed not to be a native ofBritain, it appears to have been introduced at a very early period, as Turnerincludes it in his Fames of Herbes, published in 1548; and both Gerardand Parkinson not only give very good engravings of it, but speak of its.being found in great quantities in different parts of the island. The earlyBritish writers on trees, however, appear to have often confounded theScotch pine with the spruce fir ; and it is remarkable, that neither of theabove-mentioned writers mentions the Scotch pine at all, though it is probablythe tree Parkinson means, when he speaks of the “firre tree” growing wildin Scotland. The name of the fir tree, according to Gerard, was originallyfire tree, in allusion to the use of the wood for torches and fuel; and it wasalso called the mast tree, and the deale tree. The spruce fir has always beenconsidered, in Britain, as an ornamental tree; and, from the time of Miller,it has been introduced as such in parks and pleasure-ground scenery. Aboutthe end of the last century, and in the beginning of the present one, it wasrecommended by Adam, Sang, and others, in Scotland, and by Pontey inEngland, as well adapted for sheltering other trees; but it has never beenplanted in immense masses in Britain, as a timber tree, like the Scotch pine,though it has been so in Germany; and, from the various uses to whichit may be applied even in a young state, it well deserves to be so in everycountry where it will thrive. The timber, which is called, in Norway, sprucepine, has been for an unknown period imported from that country intoBritain, chiefly in the form of entire trunks, which are used for scaffolding-poles, spars, oars, and masts for small craft; but partly, also, sawn into planksor deals, known in commerce as white deal, white Baltic deal, and whiteChristiania deal; the red deal being, for the most part, the timber of P. syl-

W. -T&

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