Noble fir is of slow growth, and the large trunks are very old, the oldest not less than 800 years. The summerwood forms a narrow, dark band in the annual ring. Medullary rays are numerous, but very thin and inconspicuous. The wood possesses little figure. It weighs twenty-eight pounds per cubic foot, which is four pounds less than the average Douglas fir. It is very low in fuel value, as softwoods usually are which have little resin. It is very weak, and it bends easily. It is soft, easily worked, and polishes well. This is one of its most valuable qualities. It is deficient in a number of properties which are desirable in wood, but partly makes up for them in its ability to take a smooth finish. It is pale brown, streaked with red, the sapwood darker. In that particular it is unusual, for most softwoods have sap lighter in color than the heart. It has been already pointed out that difficulty is met when an attempt is made to list the uses of noble fir, because it loses its name before it leaves the sawmill yard and takes the name of some other wood, and those who put it to use often do so without knowing what the wood really is. It is known that some of it is manufactured into house siding. It works nicely and looks well, but since it is liable to quick decay it must be kept well painted when it is exposed to weather. It serves as interior finish, and this seems to be one of its best uses. It is so employed for steamboats and for houses, and many shipments of it have been made to boat builders on the Atlantic coast. It is used for shipping boxes, and its light color fits it for that purpose, as the wood shows painting and stenciling to good advantage. 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.