[Illustration: FIG. 2.--Norway Spruce (_Picea excelsa_). Cones; scale
with seeds. A, Branch bearing (a) young female cones, (b) ripe cones,
reduced. B, Ripe cone scale with seeds, enlarged.]
In the most prevalent variety of the Norway spruce the wood is white,
apt to be very knotty when the tree has grown in an open place, but, as
produced in the close northern forests, often of fine and even grain.
Immense quantities are imported into Britain from Norway, Sweden and
Prussia, under the names of "white Norway," "Christiania" and "Danzig
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 weather the wood is probably as
lasting as that of the pine, but, not being so resinous, appears less
adapted for out-door uses. Great quantities are sent from Sweden in a
manufactured state, in the form of door and window-frames and
ready-prepared flooring, and much of the cheap "white deal" 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, 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 Norway, produces a red
heartwood, not easy to distinguish from that of the Norway pine (Scotch
fir), and imported with it into England as "red deal" or "pine." This
kind is sometimes seen in plantations, where it may be recognized by its
shorter, darker leaves and longer cones. The smaller branches and the
waste portion of the trunks, left in cutting up the timber, are exported
as fire-wood, or used for splitting into matches. The wood of the spruce
is also employed in the manufacture of wood-pulp for 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 turpentine oozes from cracks or
fissures in the bark, forming by its congelation a fine yellow resin,
known commercially as "spruce rosin," or "frankincense"; it is also
procured artificially by cutting off the ends of the lower branches,
when it slowly exudes from the extremities. In Switzerland and parts of
Germany, where it is collected in some quantity for commerce, a long
strip of bark is cut out of the tree near the 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 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
fuel. From the product so obtained most of the better sort of "Burgundy
pitch" of the druggists is prepared. By the peasantry of its native
countries the Norway spruce is applied to innumerable purposes of daily
life. The bark and young cones afford a tanning material, inferior
indeed to oak-bark, and hardly equal to that of the larch, but of value
in countries where substances more rich in tannin are not abundant. In
Norway the sprays, like those of the juniper, are scattered over the
floors of churches and the sitting-rooms of dwelling-houses, as a
fragrant and healthful substitute for carpet or matting. The young
shoots are also given to oxen in the long winters of those northern
latitudes, when other green fodder is hard to obtain. In times of
scarcity the Norse peasant-farmer uses the sweetish inner bark, beaten
in a mortar and ground in his primitive mill with oats or barley, to eke
out a scanty supply of meal, the mixture yielding a tolerably palatable
though somewhat resinous substitute for his ordinary _flad-brod_. A
decoction of the buds in milk or whey is a common household remedy for
scurvy; and the young shoots or green cones form an essential ingredient
in the spruce-beer drank with a similar object, or as an occasional
beverage. The well-known "Danzig-spruce" is prepared by adding a
decoction of the buds or cones to the wort or saccharine liquor before
fermentation. Similar preparations are in use wherever the spruce fir
abounds. The wood is burned for fuel, its heat-giving power being
reckoned in Germany about one-fourth less than that of beech. From the
widespreading roots string and ropes are manufactured in Lapland and
Bothnia: the longer ones which run near the surface are selected, split
through, and then boiled for some hours in a ley of wood-ashes and salt,
which, dissolving out the resin, loosens the 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
cord thus manufactured from the roots of the tree.
The Norway spruce seems to have been the "Picea" of 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
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 account, it is not so well adapted for economic planting in
Britain as the Scotch fir or larch, which come to perfection in more
bleak and elevated regions, and on comparatively barren ground, though
it may perhaps be grown to advantage on some moist hill-sides and
mountain hollows. Its great value to the English forester is as a
"nurse" for other trees, for which its dense leafage and tapering form
render it admirably fitted, as it protects, without overshading, the
young saplings, and yields saleable stakes and small poles when cut out.
For hop-poles it is not so well adapted as the larch. As a picturesque
tree, for park and ornamental plantation, it is among the best of the
conifers, its colour and form contrasting yet harmonizing with the olive
green and rounded outline of oaks and beeches, or with the red trunk and
glaucous foliage of the pine. When young its spreading boughs form good
cover for game. The fresh branches, with their thick mat of foliage, are
useful to the gardener for sheltering wall-fruit in the spring. In a
good soil and position the tree sometimes attains an enormous size: one
in Studley Park, Yorkshire, attained nearly 140 ft. in height, and the
trunk more than 6 ft. in thickness near the ground. The spruce bears the
smoke of great cities better than most of the _Abietineae_; but in
suburban localities after a certain 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 black spruce (_Picea nigra_) is a tree of more formal growth than
the preceding. The branches grow at a more acute angle and in more
regular whorls than those of the Norway spruce; and, though the lower
ones become bent to a 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 short, nearly quadrangular, and of a
dark greyish-green. The cones, produced in great abundance, are short
and oval in shape, the scales with rugged indented edges; they are deep
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
North America, its northern limit occurring at about 67 deg. N. 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
Newfoundland and some districts on the mainland adjacent. The trees
usually grow very close together, the slender trunks rising to a great
height bare of branches; but they do not attain the size of the Norway
spruce, being seldom taller than 60 or 70 ft., with a diameter of 1-1/2
or 2 ft. at the base. This 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
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 time in
water with broken biscuit or roasted grain; the resulting decoction is
then poured into a cask with molasses or maple sugar and a little yeast,
and left to ferment. It is often made by the settlers and fishermen of
the St Lawrence region, being esteemed as a preventive of scurvy. The
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 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 Canadian dominion,
where it is found to the northern limit of tree-vegetation growing up to
at least 69 deg.; the slender trunks yield the only useful timber of
some of the more desolate northern regions. In the woods of 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 Indians and voyageurs to sew together the birch-bark covering of
their canoes; and a resin that exudes from the bark is employed to
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 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 Brunswick and Nova Scotia it is often the prevailing tree.
The short leaves are 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 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 twisted
in grain, and liable to warp and split, but is used for making
plasterers' laths and for fencing; "shingles" for roofing are sometimes
made of it. The bark, split off in May or June, forms one of the most
valuable tanning substances in Canada. The sprays are sometimes used
for making spruce-beer and essence of spruce. It was introduced into
Great Britain in about the year 1736.
The 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 measures 8 or 10 ft. across.
The 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 Vancouver Island, British Columbia
and 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 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_ 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 grey, but gets rough with age. This tree appears to have been
the true "Abies" of the Latin writers--the "pulcherrima abies" of
Virgil. From early historic times it has been held in high estimation in
the south of Europe, being used by the 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 continent. In Asia it occurs on the Caucasus
and Ural, and in some parts of the Altaic chain. Extensive woods of this
fir exist on the southern Alps, where the tree grows up to nearly 4000
ft.; in the Rhine countries it forms great part of the extensive forest
of the Hochwald, and occurs in the Black Forest and in the Vosges; it is
plentiful likewise on the Pyrenees and 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 carpentry. Articles of furniture are frequently made of it,
and it is in great esteem for carving and for the construction of
stringed instruments. Deficient in resin, the wood is more perishable
than that of the spruce fir when exposed to the 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 horn or tin vessels
held beneath them. After 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 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 Scotland; one near Roseneath, figured by 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 top and horizontal
boughs sometimes stand out in most picturesque relief above the rounded
summits of the neighbouring trees. The silver fir flourishes in a deep
loamy soil, and will grow even upon stiff 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 balsam"; it abounds in
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 interest to demand mention here.
For further information see Veitch's _Manual of Coniferae_ (2nd ed.,
1900).
FIRDOUSI, FIRDAUSI or FIRDUSI, Persian poet. Abu 'l Kasim Mansur (or
Hasan), who took the _nom de plume_ of Firdousi, author of the epic poem
the _Shahnama_, or "Book of Kings," a complete history of Persia in
nearly 60,000 verses, was born at Shadab, a suburb of Tus, about the
year 329 of the Hegira (941 A.D.), or earlier. His father belonged to
the class of _Dihkans_ (the old native country families and landed
proprietors of Persia, who had preserved their influence and status
under the Arab rule), and possessed an estate in the neighbourhood of
Tus (in Khorasan). Firdousi's own education eminently qualified him for
the gigantic task which he subsequently undertook, for he was profoundly
versed in the Arabic language and literature and had also studied deeply
the Pahlavi or Old Persian, and was conversant with the ancient
historical records which existed in that tongue.
The _Shahnama_ of Firdousi (see also PERSIA: _Literature_) is perhaps
the only example of a poem produced by a single author which at once
took its place as the national epic of the people. The nature of the
work, the materials from which it was composed, and the circumstances
under which it was written are, however, in themselves exceptional, and
necessarily tended to this result. The grandeur and antiquity of the
empire and the vicissitudes through which it passed, their long series
of wars and the magnificent monuments erected by their ancient
sovereigns, could not fail to leave numerous traces in the memory of so
imaginative a people as the Persians. As early as the 5th century of the
Christian era we find mention made of these historical traditions in the
work of an Armenian author, Moses of Chorene (according to others, he
lived in the 7th or 8th century). During the reign of Chosroes I.
(Anushirvan) the contemporary of Mahomet, and by order of that monarch,
an attempt had been made to collect, from various parts of the kingdom,
all the popular tales and legends relating to the ancient kings, and the
results were deposited in the royal library. During the last years of
the Sassanid dynasty the work was resumed, the former collection being
revised and greatly added to by the Dihkan Danishwer, assisted by
several learned mobeds. His work was entitled the _Khoda'inama_, which
in the old dialect also meant the "Book of Kings." On the Arab invasion
this work was in great danger of perishing at the hands of the
iconoclastic caliph Omar and his generals, but it was fortunately
preserved; and we find it in the 2nd century of the Hegira being
paraphrased in Arabic by Abdallah ibn el Mokaffa, a learned Persian who
had embraced Islam. Other Guebres occupied themselves privately with the
collection of these traditions; and, when a prince of Persian origin,
Yakub ibn Laith, founder of the Saffarid dynasty, succeeded in throwing
off his allegiance to the caliphate, he at once set about continuing the
work of his illustrious predecessors. His "Book of Kings" was completed
in the year 260 of the Hegira, and was freely circulated in Khorasan and
Irak. Yakub's family did not continue long in power; but the Samanid
princes who succeeded applied themselves zealously to the same work, and
Prince Nuh II., who came to the throne in 365 A.H. (A.D. 976), entrusted
it to the court poet Dakiki, a Guebre by religion. Dakiki's labours were
brought to a sudden stop by his own assassination, and the fall of the
Samanian house happened not long after, and their kingdom passed into
the hands of the Ghaznevids. Mahmud ibn Sabuktagin, the second of the
dynasty (998-1030), continued to make himself still more independent of
the caliphate than his predecessors, and, though a warrior and a
fanatical Moslem, extended a generous patronage to Persian literature
and learning, and even developed it at the expense of the Arabic
institutions. The task of continuing and completing the collection of
the ancient historical traditions of the empire especially attracted
him. With the assistance of neighbouring princes and of many of the
influential Dihkans, Mahmud collected a vast amount of materials for the
work, and after having searched in vain for a man of sufficient learning
and ability to edit them faithfully, and having entrusted various
episodes for versification to the numerous poets whom he had gathered
round him, he at length made choice of Firdousi. Firdousi had been
always strongly attracted by the ancient Pahlavi records, and had begun
at an early age to turn them into Persian epic verse. On hearing of the
death of the poet Dakiki, he conceived the ambitious design of himself
carrying out the work which the latter had only just commenced; and,
although he had not then any introduction to the court, he contrived,
thanks to one of his friends, Mahommed Lashkari, to procure a copy of
the Dihkan Danishwer's collection, and at the age of thirty-six
commenced his great undertaking. Abu Mansur, the governor of Tus,
patronized him and encouraged him by substantial pecuniary support. When
Mahmud succeeded to the throne, and evinced such active interest in the
work, Firdousi was naturally attracted to the court of Ghazni. At first
court jealousies and intrigues prevented Firdousi from being noticed by
the sultan; but at length one of his friends, Mahek, undertook to
present to Mahmud his poetic version of one of the well-known episodes
of the legendary history. Hearing that the poet was born at Tus, the
sultan made him explain the origin of his native town, and was much
struck with the intimate knowledge of ancient history which he
displayed. Being presented to the seven poets who were then engaged on
the projected epic, Abu 'l Kasim was admitted to their meetings, and on
one occasion improvised a verse, at Mahmud's request, in praise of his
favourite Ayaz, with such success that the sultan bestowed upon him the
name of Firdousi, saying that he had converted his assemblies into
paradise (_Firdous_). During the early days of his sojourn at court an
incident happened which contributed in no small measure to the
realization of his ambition. Three of the seven poets were drinking in a
garden when Firdousi approached, and wishing to get rid of him without
rudeness, they informed him who they were, and told him that it was
their custom to admit none to their society but such as could give proof
of poetical talent. To test his acquirements they proposed that each
should furnish an extemporary line of verse, his own to be the last, and
all four ending in the same rhyme. Firdousi accepted the challenge, and
the three poets having previously agreed upon three rhyming words to
which a fourth could not be found in the Persian language, 'Ansari
began--
"Thy beauty eclipses the light of the sun";