304 SYLVA AMERICANA, 



whole length for the escape of several minute seeds surmounted 



by a short wing. 



The bark upon the body is slightly furrowed, smooth to the 



touch and very white when the tree stands exposed. The wood 



is reddish, somewhat odorous, very light, soft and fine-grained : 

 in the northern part of the United States and in Canada it holds 

 the first place for durability. From the shape of the trunk it is 

 difficult to procure sticks of considerable length and an uniform 

 diameter ; hence in the state of Maine it is little employed for 

 the frame of houses, though in other respects proper for this 

 object, and still less for the covering. It is softer than white 

 pine, and gives a weaker hold to nails, for which reason the 

 Canadians always join it with some more solid wood. The most 

 common use of this tree is for rural fence, for which it is highly 

 esteemed. The posts last 35 or 40 years, and the rails 60, or 

 three or four times as long as those of any other species. The 

 posts subsist twice as long in argillaceous as in sandy lands. 

 While the usage of such fences continue the utmost economy 

 should be practised in cutting the arbor vitae according to the 

 rules prescribed for resinous trees. In Canada it is selected for 

 the light frame of bark canoes. Its branches garnished with 

 leaves are formed into brooms, which exhale an agreeable, 

 aromatic odor. Kalm affirms that the leaves, pounded and 

 moulded with hog's lard, form an excellent ointment for the 

 rheumatism. 



TILIA. 



Polyandria Monogynia. Linn. Tiliaceae. Juss. Aperient, emollient. 



White Lime. Tilia alba. 



The White Lime is not met with east of the river Delaware, 

 but it is abundant in Pennsylvania, Maryland, Delaware and the 

 Western States. It does not grow like the bass wood, in elevated 

 places nor amidst the other trees of the forests, and is rarely 

 seen except on the banks of rivers ; it is particularly observed on 

 those of the Susquehannah, the Ohio, and the streams which flow 

 into them. 



