212 WOODY PLANTS OF MASSACHUSETTS. 



the country : they are very light, and are easily transported on 

 the shoulders from one lake or river to another, which is called 

 the portage. A canoe calculated for four persons with their 

 baggage, weighs from forty to fifty pounds ; some of them are 

 made to carry fifteen passengers." — Michaux, Sylva, II, p. 87. 



"In the settlements of the Hudson's Bay Company, tents are 

 made of the bark of this tree, which, for that purpose, is cut into 

 pieces twelve feet long and four feet wide. These are sewed 

 together by threads made of the white spruce roots, already 

 mentioned ; and so rapidly is a tent put up, that a circular one 

 of twenty feet in diameter, and ten feet high, does not occupy 

 more than half an hour in pitching. The utility of these ' rind 

 tents,' as they are called, is acknowledged by every traveller 

 and hunter in the Canadas. They are used throughout the 

 whole year; but, during the hot months of June, July, and 

 August, they are found particularly comfortable." — Loudon, 

 Arb. Ill, p. 1709. 



This birch, in some parts of the northern regions, attains a 

 diameter of six or seven feet. It is said not to occur far south 

 of the Hudson. 



The heart- wood of the canoe birch has a reddish hue. The 

 sap-wood is beautifully white. It is soft, smooth, takes a fine 

 polish, with a pearly lustre, and is therefore fitted for ornamen- 

 tal works. But it is perishable, when exposed to alternations of 

 moisture, and not remarkable for strength. A cance birch cut 

 in summer and kept constantly from the weather, is very dura- 

 ble, and becomes very hard. I have seen studs made of it 

 nearly forty years old, entirely free from decay. It is used 

 in the manufacture of chairs, and in other cabinet work. A 

 portion taken from a part of the trunk from which a large 

 branch issues, makes a beautifully feathered and variegated 

 surface for the front of a bureau, or for a table. It is also used 

 for hat-blocks, and for many uses of the turner. 



Formerly, when large old trees of this species were more com- 

 mon, the bark was used in the manner described above by Mi- 

 chaux being placed beneath the shingles. Many old buildings in 

 the back parts of New England are still found covered in this 

 way. Carefully laid, it makes a covering impenetrable to rain, 



