8 



THE CANADIAN NATURALIST. 



which it is in some degree a substitute, though spruce boards 

 do not possess the good qualities 

 of pine in the same degree. It 

 is much used in building. The 

 hemlock, as you are aware, is a 

 majestic tree, though of very- 

 little use ; and as it grows on 

 the poorest and most swampy 

 land, it is generally regarded as 

 an incumbrance, not worth the 

 labour of felling. Yet it is some- 

 times sawn into board and plank; 

 the former, though rough-grain- 

 ed, answers for under-covering 

 of roofs, and for fencing; and the 

 latter, from its solidity, is well 

 enough adapted for the flooring 

 gf bams. But as many good- 

 looking trees prove unsound at 

 heart, it is not much sought for, 

 and is often burnt on the land 

 when cut down, after having 

 been first stripped of its bark, 

 which is bought at a good price 

 by the tanners. 



C. — What is that yellow hair-like substance, which de- 

 pends in long ragged masses from the hemlock and other 

 trees, but most abundantly from the spruce ? 



F, — A friend of mine gave it the name of " Absalom's 

 Hair." It is a Lichen, but I do not know its name. It 

 chiefly entwines about the upper branches of the tree, to 

 which I should suppose it is very prejudicial, as those trees 

 which are covered with it seem almost in a dying state. It 



SPRUCE. 



Pinus Nigra. 



