FIR * ABIES

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• Tall, pyramidal trees of temperate and cool climates planted for ornamental and for shelter, also for timber. The name spruce is often erroneously applied.
   
• Firs are most beautiful while young, and usually lose their lower branches and become thin and unsightly as they grow older. Many of the species have little ornamental value for more than fifty years.
   
• The summers in the southern states are too hot for the successful cultivation of fir trees, and the climatic conditions of the Mississippi Valley are not favorable for their successful growth. In parks and gardens of the Pacific states, fir trees grow better than in any other part of North America.
   
• Varieties grow to 200 ft.