This section is from the book "The Gardener's Monthly And Horticulturist V28", by Thomas Meehan. See also: Four-Season Harvest: Organic Vegetables from Your Home Garden All Year Long.
I have been talking today with a wood agent, who has had considerable experience in dealing with the different kinds of home-grown fir, and his opinion quite bears out what has been said about the usefulness of the spruce. Indeed, to have spoken of the wood in the way he did it almost leads one to the conclusion that "Yorkshireman" can never have seen a really good spruce fir; or if he has, the Scotch fir in his neighborhood must be so extraordinarily good that he cannot appreciate it. At any rate, to condemn the tree as "absolutely worthless" is quite at variance with our experience in the south. I do not advocate the planting of extensive areas with spruce, as the purposes for which it is most useful, would not consume unlimited quantities, unless in some districts there may be a steady local demand for special purposes, such as colliery props. Judiciously planted, however, spruce is not a tree to be despised on estates which suit its growth. - Y. in Garden.
 
Continue to: