TREES IN NATURE 99 



and Lancashire, where they grew in great 

 plenty, as it is reported, before Noah's flood, 

 but then being overflowed and overwhelmed, 

 have been since in the mosses and watery 

 moorish grounds, very sound and fresh until 

 this day ; and so full of a resinous substance 

 that they burn like a torch or link, and the 

 inhabitants of those countries do call it Firre 

 wood and Fire wood unto this day". Those 

 of us whose home is in any of the counties 

 mentioned above, know, at this later day, to 

 our great satisfaction, that the Scots pine will 

 thrive in them. 



It is not, we have to say, before leaving 

 Evelyn for the time, the picturesque value of 

 the pine and fir that moves him, but the 

 practical consideration, also hinted at in the 

 passage just quoted from Gerarde, that gum, 

 resin and tar can be obtained from them ! 



The picturesque value of the tree, which 

 Evelyn ignores, is due to the rough-barked, 

 ruddy-hued stem and branches, and to the 

 sombre -hued needle-shaped leaves. The 

 branches also are tortuous and sinewy-looking, 

 and the growth of the tree is irregular. We 

 usually see it with the mere stumps left of 



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