118 



SILVER FIR LARCH. 



Silver Fir. 



From the Yellow and Long-leaved 

 Pines we have our supply of turpen- 

 tine ; and from the Silver Fir is ob- 

 tained a very useful resinous sub- 

 stance, known as Balm of Gilead, 

 or Canada Balsam. 



The Larch and the Cypress, al- 

 though cone-bearing trees, differ from 

 the rest in being what are called 

 " deciduous," which means that they 

 lose their foliage every year. 

 In the summer season, the Larch is one of the 

 most beautiful trees that graces the forests of the 

 Northern and Eastern States. Its tall 

 straight shaft, sometimes 100 feet high, 

 and 3 feet in diameter at the base, with its 

 minute foliage, which is densely arranged 

 upon its long and slender branches, toge- 

 ther with the perfect symmetry of outline 

 which it often assumes, render it an at- 

 tractive object. It is a comparatively rare 

 tree, and is not known to exist much south 

 of the latitude of Philadelphia, except 

 where it has been planted as an ornament. 

 In the warmer parts of the United States, the 

 place of the Larch is supplied by the Cypress. In 

 South Carolina, Georgia, Florida and Louisiana, this 

 tree grows in immense quantities in the low swampy 

 grounds contiguous to the large rivers. These " Cy- 

 press Swamps," as they are called, often occupy thou- 



Larch. 



