TREES OF AMERICA. 219 



root : the cones are light yellow, and two 

 inches long : the wood is very heavy, from 

 being full of resinous matter, or turpentine, 

 and this makes it last a long time : it is used 

 chiefly for planks for the decks of ships, and 

 for pumps ; the reason why it is so good for 

 these purposes is that it is almost entirely free 

 from knots." 



" Uncle Philip, do they get tar or turpentine 

 from this kind ?" 



" They might ; but there are other kinds, 

 of which the wood is not so valuable, and 

 most of the tar, and pitch, and turpentine is 

 got from them. 



" There is another kind that is also found 

 only in the northern parts of America, and it 

 is the smallest of all the pines ; it is called the 

 gray pine, from the colour of the cones ; it is 

 never more than eight or ten feet high, and 

 the leaves are only an inch long." 



" I suppose it is good for nothing, then, 

 Uncle Philip ; it must be too small for timber, 

 and I should think it was hardly worth cut- 

 ting down for firewood if any thing better 

 could be got." 



" You are right, my dear ; and besides, it 

 is not plentiful anywhere. It is said, how- 



