128 FRUIT TREES AND FLOWERS. 



made from the boughs of the hardest trees, and 

 which, when pitched and painted, form canoes un- 

 rivalled for lightness and durability. 



Around the borders of these vast forests grow the 

 cherry and plum, with a tree called Vinegar, as 

 the fruit, when steeped in water, produces a pleasant 

 acid. Clear running streams, which flow murmur- 

 ing in open places, are often shaded with the elegant 

 Alaco, which bears a sweet and pleasant fruit ; and 

 sunny spots are beautifully varied with white blos- 

 soming thorns and cotton-trees. The flowers of the 

 one yield abundance of yellow farina to the wander^ 

 ing bee ; those of the other, when shaken early in 

 the morning, afford a sweet juice which tastes like 

 honey. Sun-plants, resembling marigolds, also grow 

 to the height of seven or eight feet, and often pre- 

 sent their brilliant orbs in striking contrast to the 

 deep foliage of the fir. 



To such animals as find a shelter in these forests, 

 or range uncontrolled through the open plains, we 

 owe the materials of some important manufactures ; 

 and hence their spoils form considerable articles of 

 commerce. They include both noble herds of deer 

 and elks which pasture on the open plains; bears, 

 and foxes, martens, and wild cats, ferrets, weasels, 

 squirrels, hares, and rabbits, which prefer the covert, 

 or the margin of the forests; wild cattle; also 

 roebucks, goats, and wolves, and among the marshes, 

 otters, musk-rats, and beavers. 



The extensive forests of the arctic portions of Ame- 

 rica are silent during the bright light of noon-day, but 

 towards midnight, when the sun travels near the 

 horizon, and lofty forest-trees cast their lengthened 



