CHAP. CXIll.

CONl'FEIl.®. W'BIES.

2309

rotten and decays, giving birth to myriads of insects, which seriously injurethe surrounding trees. It is therefore better to cut the trees down afterextracting the sap for 10 or 12 years, as before advised; because the woodmay then probably be used for packing-boxes, &c., and, at any rate, will begood for fuel and charcoal.

Soil, Situation, Propagation, and Culture. All agree that the spruce firrequires a soil somewhat moist. Like all other firs, Sang observes, it willgrow and thrive in soils of very different qualities; but it never attains largedimensions in shallow soils and exposed places. On dry soils, it invariablybecomes stunted, produces a great number of cones at an early age, and soondies. The check given to large trees by transplanting also throws theminto bearing; by which means, even in the most suitable soils, the progressof the tree in making wood is much impeded. Hence, in the case of thespruce, as in all the other .dbietinse, the great advantage of transplanting thetree when young. The spruce fir grows most luxuriantly in deep loamsand low situations; or on acclivities with a north-east aspect, and a moistsandy soil ; in which last situation, at Blair and other places in Scotland ,it is found to produce timber as strong and durable as that imported fromNorway . The mature cones may be gathered any time between Novemberand April: they should be chosen from healthy vigorous trees, and exposedto the heat of the sun, placed in a warm room, or slightly dried on a kiln ;after which, the seeds will drop out by merely shaking the cones, or gentlythrashing them. Fifteen gallons of cones will produce 2 lb. of seeds withtheir wings, or 1 lb. 4 oz. without them. After being collected, the seeds maybe kept three or four years, and will still preserve their vitality; but it isalways safest to sow them immediately after taking them from the cones, orin the course of the following March or April. The seeds of the spruce fir,being nearly of the same size as those of the Scotch pine, may be treated inthe nursery in a similar manner (see p.2179.); but, as theplants, when they comeup, are more prolific in fibrous roots, and less so in shoots and leaves, theymay be kept in the nursery, by frequent transplanting, till they attain a muchlarger size. The most convenient time for planting them where they arefinally to remain is after they have been two years in the seed-bed, and oneyear transplanted; and the operation should never be performed but inmild weather, and when the air is somewhat moist. Where the seeds are tobe sown to grow up at once into a plantation, without transplanting, the samequantity may be used as in the case of the Scotch pine (see p. 2178.). InGermany , and in some parts of France , according to Baudrillart, the seedsof the common spruce are sown along with those of oats, rye, or barley,at the rate of from 2 quarts to 4 or 5 quarts per acre; and, after thecrop of corn is removed, the ground is enclosed, and left to become aspruce fir wood. The same thing is practised with the Scotch pine, andvarious other forest trees. The first year from the seed, young plants of thespruce fir make very little progress, not producing more than eight or nineleaves, and not rising higher than from 1 in. to 2 in. The second year, theypush from 2 in. to 4 in.; and the third year they put out lateral branches.The fourth and fifth years, the plants begin to grow fast, showing whorlsof branches in the same manner as full-grown trees. The period of growthfor the annual shoots, from this year, and ever afterwards, is from two totwo and a half months ; but the roots continue growing the whole summer.The eighth year, the length of the leading shoot will be from 2 ft. to 3 ft.Where the tree is grown principally for its branches, either as undergrowthfor hedges, or as strips for shelter or seclusion, the plants ought to be placed5 ft. or 6 ft. apart, and thinned out as soon as they touch each other; but,where they are planted in masses for the purpose of producing rods forstakes, or poles for hops, fencing, or spars, they may be planted from 3 ft.to 6 ft. apart every way, and not thinned till they are of such a lengthas to be sufficient for some useful purpose. Full-grown plantations ofs pruce firs should be thinned either by cutting out the smallest, where the

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