244 CONVERSATIONS ON THE 



real diameter of the trunk must always be 

 taken at the height of five or six feet." 



' Uncle Philip, I should think the wood- 

 cutters would not like that; it must give 

 them a great deal of trouble to cut through 

 such a quantity of wood." 



" That is very true, my boy ; but they 

 know how to manage it ; they always build 

 up a scaffold above the swelled part or base, so 

 that they can cut where the proper size of the 

 tree begins. There is a curious thing, too, 

 about the roots ; on those of the very large 

 trees there are large swellings, sometimes as 

 big round as a barrel, and quite hollow ; the 

 negroes make bee-hives of them. The cy- 

 press is not an ever-green ; the leaves are 

 small and very much like those of the white 

 spruce, but not as close and numerous : after 

 the summer they change from light green to 

 a dull red, and soon after fall. Boiled in 

 water they give a fine cinnamon colour, and 

 are sometimes used for dying. The cones 

 are hard and round, and about as large as a 

 plum ; the surface is curiously marked, and 

 they contain a number of seeds with kernels 

 in them. The wood is fine-grained, and of a 



