212 WHITE CEDAR 



forest than is advisable for that tree: from four to five 

 feet apart would be about right in most situations. If trans- 

 plants are not sought, the seedlings may remain in the seed- 

 bed for three years, as the tree is a slow grower in early as 

 well as in later life. If at all encouraged, natural seeding 

 will take place, and no doubt planting seeds would be suc- 

 cessful. No information can be obtained of any effort to 

 grow it as a forest tree, but it is largely used as an orna- 

 mental tree and for wind-breaks. 



There is another tree commonly called White Cedar, but 

 which is botanically known as Chamcecyparis thyoides. It 

 closely resembles the Eastern White Cedar just described, 

 but grows to greater dimensions, frequently reaching a dia- 

 meter of four feet above a slightly buttressed base, and a 

 height of seventy-five or eighty feet. It may truthfully be 

 called a coastal tree, as it is mainly found in swamps that 

 are sometimes submerged for months, along the coast from 

 Massachusetts Bay to the Gulf of Mexico, rarely reaching 

 farther west than Mobile Bay. It is better adapted to the 

 manufacture of lumber than the Eastern Arborvitae, as the 

 stem is more cylindrical and its taper much less ; but the 

 lumber trade makes no distinction. The character of the 

 wood and its uses are substantially the same, although there 

 is a greater difference between spring and summer wood, 

 and the annual rings are consequently more conspicuous 

 than in the Eastern White Cedar. Whether it can be grown 

 outside of its natural habitat is somewhat doubtful, as it is 

 distinctively a swamp tree, yet it is possible that, like the 

 Bald Cypress, it will grow in drier locations. If so its cul- 

 tivation could become possible elsewhere. 



