THE NOETHEEN CYPEESS. 



THE Northern Cypress, or White Cedar, is a more 

 stately tree than the juniper, but it is never seen by our 

 waysides ; it will thrive only in swampy soils. This is 

 the tree that covers those extensive morasses known as 

 cedar swamps, which are, perhaps, the best examples ex- 

 tant of the primitive forest. The White Cedar is not often 

 called the Cypress in New England, and in general ap- 

 pearance, and especially in the style of its foliage, bears 

 but little resemblance to the Southern Cypress ; but its 

 similarity to the juniper is very striking. It is a taller 

 tree than the European Cypress. By some botanists it is 

 classed with the arbor- vitae. 



This tree is not confined to inland moors, but is often 

 found upon marshes which are overflowed by the tide of 

 the ocean. Cedar swamps are common in all the mari- 

 time parts of the country. In many of them in New 

 England the trees are so closely set that it is difficult 

 to traverse them. Their wetness presents another obsta- 

 cle to the traveller, except in winter, when the water 

 is frozen, or in the driest part of summer. In these 

 swamps there is a covering, in some parts, of bog-moss, 

 from six inches to a foot deep, always charged with 

 moisture, in which are embedded several half-parasitic 

 plants, such as the white orchis. The White Cedar con- 

 stitutes with the southern cypress the principal timber of 

 the Great Dismal Swamp, and is the last tree, except the 

 red maple, which is discovered when travelling through 

 an extensive morass. 



