58 THE WOODLANDS. 



faith in its indestructibility for rafters, as expressed 

 in their adage, 



" Thatch me well, and keep me dry, 

 Heart of oak I will defy." 



One of the reasons which have been alleged to ac- 

 count for the absence of large alder-trees is, that the 

 wood is required for so many of the small uses of 

 man, as oak is of the large ones, that they are not 

 allowed to stand long enough to become large trees. 

 It is, nevertheless, certain that the wood is a very 

 useful one for many purposes. There is a little beetle 

 which is very destructive to the wood, and for this 

 reason the " sabots " made of it in France are smoked 

 so as to preserve them. Sir Thomas Lander sug- 

 gests, that if the logs be immersed in a large hole, 

 -dug in a peat-moss, impregnating the water of the 

 hole with a quantity of lime, and left there for a few 

 months, they will be safe from attack. Probably one 

 of the chief uses for alder is the manufacture of 

 charcoal for gunpowder manufactories, it being held 

 in great esteem for that purpose, This use is in 

 harmony with the poet's description 

 " The rigid alder its stiff image throws 

 Gloomy and sad, as though it scorned to please : 

 Emblem of woe, too great to be expressed, 

 Which broods in silence, and corrodes the breast." 



The BUTCHER'S BROOM 1 is a most insignificant 

 little evergreen, often not half a yard in height, and 

 seldom exceeding three feet, and yet it is to be found 

 scattered through woods in different parts of the 



1 Rtiscus acideatw. 



