FIORD, an inlet of the sea, generally long, narrow, and deep; a term applied in Scandinavian countries to any bay, creek, or arm of the sea which extends inland, and sometimes used to express an inland lake or considerable sheet of water; as, Sogne Fiord. The fiords of Iceland, like those which indent the gra nitic coasts of Norway, were formed by immense flows of lava, raised and rent by subterraneous forces. In the S. part of the island, the caverns, basaltic colon nades, and natural arches of Stapi re mind one of the strangest formations of Ireland, and the beautiful grotto of Antrim. These gulfs, often but half a mile in width, extend as far as 5 or 6 miles into the mountains, where they are surrounded on all sides by perpendicular rocks, rising to an immense height.
FIR. the common name of a large number of coniferous trees, of a pyra midal form and elegant proportions. This name is often used in a sense co extensive with the widest sense of the word PINE (q. v.), and therefore so as to include a large portion of the Pina ces (conifers), or at least the whole of the Linnan genus Pinus. But the name fir is also often used in a more restricted signification, and the trees so designated are those forming the genus Abies of some authors, Abies and Picea of others, which the greater number of botanists have now agreed in separating from Pinus. In the classification of
Lindley, all the firs are included in the genus Abies. The common silver fir, Abies picea, has erect cylindrical cones, 5-6 inches long, and two-rowed leaves, with two white lines upon the under side. It forms considerable woods upon the mountains of central Europe and of the N. of Asia, and attains a height of 150-180 feet, and an age of 300 years. The wood is white, contains little resin, is very soft and light, and is employed for the ordinary purposes of coopers, turn ers, and joiners, and in ship and house carpentry, also for making bandboxes, and for many fine purposes, especially for the sounding-boards of musical in struments. It yields the beautiful clear turpentine known as Strassburg turpen tine. Very similar to the silver fir, but generally of much smaller size, and indeed seldom much above 40 feet in height, is the Balm-of-Gilead fir (Abies bal samea), a native of the United States, from Virginia to Canada. The wood is of little value, but the tree yields the Canada balsam. (See TURPENTINE.) The other important species of firs will be seen under their particular names.