142 SYLVAN SKETCHES. 



large size; here, after the first eight or ten years, it 

 makes little progress. 



The Black, Pinus nigra, and the White Spruce Fir, 

 Pinus alba, are so named from the colour of their bark ; 

 there is little difference in that of the wood; and the 

 under-sides of the leaves are whiter in the black species 

 than in the white. Both are natives of North America ; 

 the white, which is much the largest, on the mountains ; 

 the black, on the low grounds, generally in bogs and 

 swamps. From both the sorts exudes a clear resin of a 

 strong scent, much used by the Indians to cure wounds 

 and internal disorders ; and the branches of both are 

 indifferently used in making spruce beer. 



There is a variety called the Long-coned Cornish Fir. 



The Norway spruce, Pinus abies, is the loftiest of 

 our European trees, attaining a height of one hundred 

 and forty or one hundred and fifty feet, with a very 

 straight trunk, and throwing out its spreading branches 

 so as to form an elegant pyramid. 



This tree is called the Norway Spruce, because its 

 timber is chiefly imported into this country from Norway. 

 The vast woods of Denmark, Norway, and Sweden, are 

 principally composed of this Fir, and the Pinus sylvestris; 

 which we call the Scotch pine, because it abounds in 

 Scotland, and is the only tree of the genus that is in- 

 digenous there. 



There are two principal varieties of the Norway 

 Spruce Fir ; the white, and the red ; supposed to be 

 so called from the paler or deeper colour of their cones : 

 both afford the white deals ; the red deal is the timber of 

 the Pinus sylvestris^ and is of a much superior quality. 



Fir was formerly used for building ships, and still is 

 in use for masts, and some other parts, but seldom for 



