THE WOODS OF NEW BRUNSWICK. 23 
Watnout Famity (Juglandacee). 
THE BUTTERNUT (Juglans cinerea, L.). 
The Butternut is not an abundant tree in New Brunswick, 
being mostly confined to the southern counties and the valley of 
the St John river, especially above Woodstock, while it is absent 
from the coast, and also, according to Mr Fowler, from the 
northern counties of the Province. It is usually met with in 
rich moist lands, especially in calcareous districts, and some of 
these, such as Butternut Ridge, in King’s Co., have received their 
names from its former abundance in their vicinity. It is rarely 
found away from roads or settlements. Although never a tall 
tree, it thrives well under cultivation, and sometimes attains a 
height of 60 feet or more. 
The wood of the butternut is adapted for numerous and various 
uses. Its rich reddish-yellow colour, darkening with age, and 
then nearly resembling the English oak, as well as its lightness, 
render it suitable for cabinet work, for which it is also well 
adapted by the facility with which it receives paint or varnish, 
and the fact that it is not readily split by nails. For a like reason 
it may be advantageously employed for carriage-making and similar 
uses, being both light and durable. It is well fitted for purposes 
of interior decoration, and has been employed with excellent 
effect, both in the Cathedral at Fredericton and in other churches 
through the Province. 
Of minor uses, the employment of the bark and nut-shells in 
dyeing may be mentioned, as well as that of the young half-grown 
nuts for the making of pickles. The bark is also said to yield an 
extract possessed of laxative properties, 
Oax Famity (Cupulifere). 
The representatives of this family in the New Brunswick Sylva 
are (1.) The Red Oak (Quercus rubra, L.), the American Beech 
(Fagus ferruginea, Ait.), the Beaked Hazel-nut (Corylus rostrata, 
Ait.), the American Hornbeam (Carpinus Americana, Mich.), and 
the American Hop Hornbeam (Ostrya Virginica, Willd.), to which 
may be added, as introduced at a few points, the Spanish Chestnut 
(Castanea vesca, L.). 
