European nurseries have propagated noble fir with success, but it does not do so well in the eastern part of the United States, though it lives through winters as far north as Massachusetts. It is not known to have been planted for other than ornamental purposes. Unless it would grow much faster in plantations than in its wild state, it will be too long in maturing to make it attractive to the timber planter.
WHITE FIR (_Abies concolor_). The whiteness of the wood and the silver color of the young branches give this species its name, but it is not the sole possessor of that name, but shares it with three other firs. In California, Idaho, and Utah it is called balsam fir. The branches and upper parts of the trunk where the bark is thin, are covered with blisters which contain white resin. In Utah it is known as white balsam, as silver fir in some parts of California, and as black gum in Utah. The reason for that name is not apparent, unless it refers to the black bark on old trees. It has several other names which are combinations of white and silver with some other term. Its range is mostly in the Sierras and in the Rocky Mountain ranges, extending from southern Colorado to the mountains of California, north through Oregon, and south through New Mexico and Arizona. The immense proportions are reached only in the Sierra growth, those trees in the Rockies being hardly above ordinary size. In its free growth the tree is reputed to be the only one of its genus found in the arid regions of the Great Basin, and similar localities in Arizona and New Mexico. It is not distinguished by all botanists from the similar species, _Abies grandis_.
White fir attains a height of 250 feet and a diameter of six in some instances, but the average size of mature trees among the Sierra Nevadas is 150 feet tall and three or four in diameter. In the Rocky Mountain region the tree is smaller. It grows from 3,000 to 9,000 feet above sea level. The leaves are long for the fir genus, and vary from two to three inches. The tree’s bark is black near the base of large trunks but of less somber color near the top. Near the base of large trees the bark is sometimes six inches thick. The wood of this species is light and soft. Carpenters consider it coarse grained, by which they mean that it does not polish nicely. It is brittle and weak. The rings of annual growth are generally broad, with the bands of darker colored summerwood prominent. In lumber sawed tangentially, rings produces distinct figure, but it is not generally regarded as pleasing. The medullary rays are prominent for a softwood, but quarter-sawing does not add much to the wood’s appearance. It decays quickly in alternate wet and dry situations. Trees are apt to be affected with wind shake, and the wood’s disposition to splinter in course of manufacture has prejudiced many users against it. However, it has some good qualities. The wood is free from objectionable odor, and this qualifies it as box material. Fruit shippers can use it without fear of contaminating their wares. It is light in color, and stenciling looks well on it. Its weight is likewise in its favor.