TREES OF AMERICA. 101 



In New-York and Pennsylvania, it has been 

 seen seventy and eighty and even one hun- 

 dred feet high, and three or three and a half 

 thick ; but in Kentucky it grows sometimes 

 as high as one hundred and forty feet, with a 

 trunk six or seven feet thick, and as straight 

 as an arrow." 



" Well, that is a very great size to be sure ; 

 now if it is only as useful as it is large and 

 handsome, that it is something worth talking 

 about, I suppose it must be the largest of all 

 trees." 



" Oh no ; the button-wood or button-ball as 

 you call it, is still larger, but we will talk about 

 that by-and-by. The wood is yellow, and 

 fine grained, and it takes a very good polish ; 

 and besides this, it is strong enough for 

 almost any use that can be made of it. The 

 heart or perfect wood, when well seasoned 

 lasts a long time, and is never attacked by 

 worms, and for this reason it makes very ex- 



/ 



cellent house timber, and for rafters and roof 

 pieces it is better than oak, being equally solid 

 and durable, and much lighter. In some parts 

 of the country, where pine wood is scarce, 

 boards for the outside of houses are made of the 



tulip-tree, but it is not as good for this use as 



i 2 



