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Alleghaneys, to the point of Florida, and west to the rising grounds of Texas. On the Atlantic coast, and over a portion of Louisiana, resinous trees, peculiar to low and sandy soils, prevail: such as cedars, cypresses, firs, pines, and some others: intermingled with shrubs and various plants. The swampy, marshy, and even alluvial soils of this region are generally but ill adapted for agriculture.

In Florida and Louisiana, the magnolia, catalpa, and tulip trees flourish. Several other trees peculiar to warm latitudes and low lands also grow. Extensive tracts called cedar swamps also occur covered thickly with cedar-trees. Some of the characteristics of this zone appear in latitudes farther north, where the low sandy soils, even within the Gulf of St. Lawrence, produce low spruce firs, dwarf-willows, poplars, and other trees and shrubs, similar to those found on the same kind of soils in Florida. The low sandy shores of part of the north side of Prince Edward island; the country generally near the shore north from Miramichi to Point Mescou, and even on the south side of the island of Anticosti, present, frequently, though of less extent, barren soils, bogs, and swamps, resembling those near the low shores of Virginia and Florida.

The second zone comprehends the hilly and mountainous parts of the Carolinas, Pennsylvania, the southern parts of New York, and the country west to the prairies, and south to the northern limits of the low regions of Louisiana and other low grounds of the south. Oak, beech, maple, sycamores, mulberries, acacias, large poplars, large birches, walnuts, and sassafras-trees, with, occasionally, fir-trees intermixed; and in the lower grounds cypresses, cedars, pines, and some other trees, are the predominant woods. East, and on the brows, of the Alleghaney chain, and intermixed with several varieties, to the west, are found chesnut, sumach, and various other trees, which grow in fertile soils.

The third zone comprehends the forests of the New York, and New England States, Vermont, New Brunswick, the wooded parts of Nova Scotia, and parts of Cape Breton. A portion of the west part of Newfoundland, Canada, south of the St. Lawrence, and partly to the north of the St. Lawrence as far as 47 deg. 30 min. north, thence following nearly a direct line to the parallel of 43 deg. 30 min. north, on the shores west of Lake Huron, and including nearly all Michigan, and the countries in the same parallel of latitude to the Pacific: and comprehending all the countries south of this extensive line to latitude 40 deg. north-east of the Mississippi, and west of that river and of the Missouri, to the foot of the Rocky Mountains; and thence, west of that chain to the shores of the Pacific. This zone may be considered as comprehending the great forest regions of America, and embracing a portion of the second zone and some parts of the northern zone.

The fourth zone comprehends the woods of the northern regions, chiefly low firs, dwarf birches, willows, small poplars, &c., until vegetation, diminishing to creeping firs and low dwarf shrubs, finally ceases. The woods of the gulf

and river of St. Lawrence, north of Quebec; the whole country of America, north of the parallel of the Manitoulin Islands, in Lake Superior; the north-east section of the district of Gaspé; and, nearly, the whole island of Newfoundland, are comprehended in this zone. Even in this division there are exceptions to the general character of its trees; for on the west of Newfoundland, and within some of the sheltered valleys of Labrador, and in the valleys of the river Saghuny, trees sufficiently large for ship-building are found.

It is, however, to the two central zones that we must chiefly advert in our brief view of the forests of North America: the magnificent splendour of which, is peculiar to that division of the western world.

In Europe, in Asia, in Africa, and even in South America, the primeval trees, how much soever their magnitude may arrest admiration, do not grow in the promiscuous style that prevails in the great general character of the North American woods.

Many varieties of the pine, intermingled with birch, maple, beech, oak, and numerous other tribes, branch luxuriantly over the banks of lakes and rivers, extend in stately grandeur along the plains, and stretch proudly up to the very summits of the mountains.

It is impossible to exaggerate the autumnal beauty of these forests; nothing under Heaven can be compared to its effulgent grandeur.

Two or three frosty nights in the decline of autumn, transform the boundless verdure of a whole empire into every possible tint of brilliant scarlet, rich violet, every shade of blue, and brown, vivid crimson, and glittering yellow. The stern, inexorable fir tribes alone maintain their eternal sombre green all others, in mountains, and in valleys, burst into the most glorious vegetable beauty, and exhibit the most splendid, and most enchanting, panorama on earth.*

Amidst the American wilderness we have often ascended one of those heights, from which the scope of vision ranges over the surface of boundless forests, varying in shades from the funereal hue of the firs, to the bright verdure and golden tinges of the birch, the yellow and brown shades of the beech, and the red and violet of the maple; from whence the imagination alone penetrates underneath the silent, indomitable covert, amidst the intricacies of which, the traveller might suddenly wander into bewildered labyrinths, and for ever lose his way, in perplexing ignorance of the course that would lead him back to civilization and to the human throng-from the coverts, where the moose, carriboo, and bear, have safely fed and roved, until pursued to gratify the desires, and until ensnared by the wiles of man.†

The forest trees in North America are exceedingly numerous, but in this work

* I consider that these metamorphoses are caused by the action of frost at this period on the acids contained in the leaves.

+ British America, vol. ii., page 30.

it will only be possible to describe briefly the principal timber-trees, among which those of the pine family claim the first rank.

Michaux describes fourteen species of pine, and there are probably more varieties. Pines do not often grow on fertile soils, at least not in groves; low, sandy, and poor, but not strong lands, are most congenial to their growth.

The yellow long-leaved pine (pinus strobus) is the most generally useful; and the great bulk of the timber of commerce exported from America is of this kind. It grows in extensive forests in Canada and New Brunswick, and grew formerly in great plenty in the old provinces, and in Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia, and Cape Breton. It is a magnificent tree, frequently fifteen feet in circumference near the ground, free from branches for seventy or eighty feet, and often more than 120 feet in height. Some trees, after being hewn square, and the limbs, with twenty to thirty feet of the top cut off, have measured eight or nine tons, of forty solid feet each.

The pitch pine, (pinus Australis), also long-leaved, and valuable on account of its durability, but more so from its producing principally the turpentine and tar of America. It delights in higher ground than the yellow pine, and seldom exceeds six feet in circumference.

The red pine (pinus Sylvestris) is often a tall tree, but seldom more than four or five feet in girth. It is nearly the same in kind and quality as the fir imported into the United Kingdom from Norway, in square logs. Until this tree be sufficiently matured, or if it be in a situation where it grows rapidly, it contains a great proportion of sap wood; and it is only when this part is hewn away, that the red pine is durable. It is much used in ship-building and many other purposes, but it is much more rare than any of the other pines. In many parts of Canada, and along some branches of the St. John, it has lately been discovered in extensive groves.

Hemlock spruce (abies Cunadensis). There are two varieties of the hemlock, the red and white; both are very durable. The lath wood, imported in billets from America, is principally hemlock. The red splits too freely, and is remarkably full of cracks, or, as the Americans term it, shakey. The white is often apt to splinter, but it is close grained, hard, holds nails or tree nails well, and is used in colonial ship building. Its bark is used very generally in America for tanning. There is no wood better adapted for mining purposes or piles; and it is remarkable that iron, driven into it, will not corrode either in or out of water. Hemlock trees generally grow in dry hollows, in groves, and from two to three feet in diameter, and sixty to eighty feet high.

Five varieties of the spruce fir are abundant in all except the northernmost regions; and the dwarf spruce creeps as far north as any tree. The black, gray, white, and red spruce firs, called so from the colour of their respective barks, are the same as those of Norway, imported into England for masts, yards, &c. These

trees grow to a great height. The black spruce (pinus abies) is frequently observed in the distance, like a black minaret or spire, towering twenty or thirty feet above all other forest trees. The spruce firs of rapid growth are not durable, but those growing in bleak situations, or near the sea coast, are hard and lasting. The wood of all the species is white.

The American silver fir (abies balsamifera) is that from which the transparent resin known as Canada balsam is procured. This balsam is the best possible application to fresh wounds. The Indians use it also as a remedy for several internal complaints. The timber of this tree is seldom used in America, except for fencing rails.

The celebrated essence of spruce is extracted from the black spruce. When the branches are used to make beer, so common in America, merely by boiling them in water, and adding a few hops and a certain portion of molasses, those of the dwarf trees are preferred.

The Hacmatack, or larch (pinus laryx) called also in America, tamarac, and juniper, is considered the most durable of the pine family. In some parts, but not generally, it is very plentiful. It attains, frequently, a great height, but rarely more than two feet in thickness. Its wood is heavy, tough, and becomes hard by seasoning. It burns with difficulty, and does not readily absorb water. In these respects hemlock resembles it most.

Both red cedar (juniperus Virginiana) and white cedar (cupressus thyoides) are met with in the north of Virginia, and New York, but not in abundance. The former is found in Upper Canada, the latter grows in the lower provinces. The largest trees that we have seen, about three feet in diameter, were on the banks of the Buonaventura river, in the district of Gaspé, at which place the Acadian French use the white cedar, in preference to other wood, for house and shipbuilding. There are two or more varieties of it, one of which is called Canada cyprus it is a beautiful ornamental tree. It has been successfully transplanted from Canada to France; and in the garden of the Petit Trianon, Versailles, there are two or three fine trees of this species.

The common juniper, which yields the berry used in the arts, and which takes two years in ripening, is found in most cold situations, where other trees seldom grow. A creeping variety of fir, called in America ground spruce, producing a delicious red berry, and on which cattle delight to browse, grows in many places in great plenty. It differs in its nature from all other varieties of firs, inasmuch as it thrives only in fertile soils.

The oak, in England, claims the precedence of all other trees; but not so in America. The people of the United States boast much, it is true, of the durability and excellence of their white oak (quercus alba). It is certainly a tough, durable wood, and probably equal to the greater part of the oak now cut down annually in Great Britain; but no more, in firmness and durability, to be com

pared to the "unwedgable and gnarled oak of England," than sand-stone is to granite. The wood growing in the southern parts, which they term "live oak," is, however, very firm, and remarkably durable; probably as lasting as the old English oak.

The gray, or, more properly white oak of Canada, New York, Pennsylvania, and Michigan, is a tolerably close-grained and lasting wood, and much used in ship-building and for staves. It resembles very closely the quercus pedunculata of the continent of Europe, and is probably as durable.

The quercitron oak (quercus tinctoria) is considered, in the United States, of very lasting quality. The bark, also, contains a great portion of tannin, but imparts a yellow colour to the leather, and is therefore objected to.

The red oak of America is the most plentiful, but very porous, and of indifferent quality. It is, however, frequently made into staves, and its bark is valuable for tanning.

The beech-tree (fagus sylvatica) thrives abundantly, but always on fertile dry soils. It is in America usually a beautiful, majestic tree, and sometimes three feet in diameter. It is useful for the same purposes to which it is applied in England; under water it is remarkably durable, and it affords a great quantity of potashes. Its bark contains a fair portion of tannin; and it produces, every second year, heavy crops of mast, or nuts, which are pleasant to the taste, and on which partridges, squirrels, mice, &c., feed; the hogs of the settlers ramble through the woods as soon as the beech-nuts begin to fall, and fatten so rapidly on them, that they acquire one to three inches in thickness of additional fat, not very firm it is true, in a few weeks.

Two or three varieties of the elm (ulmus campestris) are met with in America. It attains much about the same size as the beech-tree, and its quality is fully equal to the best that grows in England. Elm, however, is not abundant in America.

Ash (fraxinus)—of this tree there are many varieties; but the common gray ash only, generally called white ash in America, is durable or useful.

The mountain ash (pyrus aricuparia) grows in all parts of North America. It is not, however, of the ash, but rather of the birch tribe. It is, in fact, Sir Walter Scott's "rowan tree." Its foliage and berries make it a pretty ornamental tree.

Of the birch tribe (betula), we met with eight, or probably more, varieties, known in America by the names of black, white, yellow, gray, birches, &c.

The common white birch (betula alba) is the most hardy tree that we know. The dwarf white birch grows farther north than any other tree; and where the rigour of the climate prevents it growing upright, it creeps along the ground affording food and shelter to birds that resort in summer to high latitudes.

Between the latitudes of forty and forty-eight, we find, in valleys, or where

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