FIR FIRDUSI 209 another species of the Pacific coast, and is found more abundantly northward ; it attains even a larger size than the last named, and in its native localities is converted into lumber for exportation to the Hawaiian islands and else- where. This has been found hardy by the eastern cultivators. The lovely silver fir, A. amabilis, is another large tree of northern Cal- ifornia and Oregon. Among species of fir of the eastern hemisphere, the most common is A. pectinata, the common silver fir, which has been planted in this country to some extent ; but it has one of the faults of our balsam fir, being short-lived. It is a native of the moun- tains of central Europe and of those of Asia, and attains the height of a first-class tree ; its wood is of great value, being used in carpen- try and boat building, for masts, and even for carved work ; its bark is used for tanning and Silver Fir (Abies pectinata). leaves for litter ; it yields the Strasburg tnr- mtine, an exudation resembling the Canada Isam, collected in a similar manner, and used Europe for similar purposes. The Cephalo- nian fir (A. Cephalonica), a native of the moun- tains of Greece, is a fine tree 60 ft. high, and is a striking object on account of its dark green leaves, which are rigid and stand out from the stem at right angles, pointing in every direc- tion, and giving the tree the appearance of be- ing on the defensive. The timber of this tree is hard and very durable, that in houses 300 years old being perfectly sound. It has proved fairly hardy in this country. Nordmann's fir (A. Nordmanniana) is another fine species, the beautiful green color of which commends it to the attention of cultivators. Picea Web- biana, Webb's purple-coned silver fir, comes from the Himalayas, where it was discovered by a travelling naturalist, Capt. W. S. Webb. In its native locality its wood is highly prized ; it is equal in grain and color to Bermuda cedar. It is valued in England as an ornamental tree. Other species, the value of which in this coun- try has not yet been sufficiently determined, are A. Apollinis, from Greece; A. bracteata, from Oregon ; A. Cilicica, from Asia Minor ; A. Pinsapo, a native of the mountains of Spain ; A. Vietchii, from Japan; and A. religiosa, the sacred silver fir of Mexico. Yery full accounts of the history and uses of the species of fir may be found in the fourth volume of London's "Arboretum et Fruticetum," and brief de- scriptions, with the nomenclature corrected according to the views of modern botanists, in Hoopes's "Book of Evergreens" (12mo, New York, 1868). (See HEMLOCK SPRTJCE, LAEOH, and SPRUCE.) FIRDUSI, Ferdusi, or Ferdonsi, Ahul Kasim Man- sour, a Persian poet, born near Thus, in Kho- rasan, about A. D. 940, died in Thus in 1020. He was often called Thusi from that city, and his ordinary name (firdus meaning both garden and paradise) was given him either because his father was a gardener or from the excellence of his poems. He continued to reside for many years in his native village, and occupied himself with the traditions concerning the ancient kings of Persia. He was advanced in age when he repaired to the court of Mahmoud of Ghuzni, where he was presented to the most distin- guished scholars and poets of the time, and en- couraged by the sultan to compose his great his- torical poem, Shah NameJi. He spent 30 years upon this work, which contains 60,000 verses, and relates the mythical and romantic exploits of the Persian kings from the foundation of the world, that is, from the hero Kaimurs, who dis- puted the earth with genii, to the invasion of the Mussulmans about A. D. 636. Its most in- teresting portion is the account of the prowess of the hero Rustem. Receiving 60,000 silver, instead of the same number of gold dirhems promised to him by the sultan, he is said to have distributed the whole sum, in three equal parts, to the slave who brought it and two attendants of the bath where he received it. He was sentenced to death for having treated the sultan's gift with so much indignity, and with difficulty procured a revocation of the sentence. He then fled from the court, leav- ing behind him a bitter satire on the sultan, and took refuge first at Mazanderan and after- ward at Bagdad. Being finally permitted to return to his native town, he spent there, ac- cording to some narratives, the remainder of his life ; but according to others he died before receiving the pardon of the sultan, which was accompanied by munificent gifts. The Shah Nameh is one of the oldest poetic monuments of Persian literature, and is regarded by the orientals as an authority in regard to the prim- itive history of western Asia, and especially by the disciples of Zoroaster, since it contains his praises, and its mythology is that of the religion he taught. It is really, however, of little value as a historical authority. Its true merit con-
