1 66 AMERICAN PINE TIMBER. 



continue his voyage, though some of his effects when 

 sinkable may get lost occasionally. 



We must now turn our attention to the grand family 

 of pine trees, which always take a leading place* in 

 every description of North American forestry the 

 numerous varieties of these trees, whose name is legion, 

 undoubtedly formed what were even in quite recent 

 years, the largest and finest forests in the world; for 

 magnificent and justly renowned though many of the 

 Canadian and United States forests near the great 

 lakes and the eastern seaboard unquestionably were; 

 it is now well known that all the largest and hand- 

 somest trees are mostly strictly confined to the 

 region lying to the westward of the Rocky Moun- 

 tains, extending from California to British Columbia 

 and Alaska. 



Of the trees on the eastern seaboard, it is almost 

 universally conceded that the " Pinus Strobus " is the 

 most valuable from a commercial point of view. This 

 tree furnishes most of the American "white deal" 

 timber, so well known in the European markets; and 

 in England it is known as the Weymouth Pine, 

 from the absurd reason that some plantings grown 

 from seed imported from America, proved a success 

 near Weymouth. 



The habitat of this grand American tree is in por- 

 tions of the northern United States and Canada, where 

 it forms splendid natural forests of vast extent, along 

 the banks of rivers and in fertile valleys and bottoms. The 

 trees grow pretty thickly together, the trunks often 

 ascending in favourable situations to 100 feet or more 

 without a branch; the growth of a grove of these 

 pines being very uniform and gregarious, the under 



