148 Forests and Trees 



and may have been given from the habit of using the aromatic 

 gum of these trees as incense in sacrifice to the gods. 



Both the cedars and the arbor-vitaes were highly esteemed 

 by the ancients, partly, perhaps, on account of their aromatic 

 odor, but certainly because of the great durability of their 

 wood. Pliny said that the wood of the cedar was everlasting 

 and thought the gods were made of it. 



The arbor-vitaes are evergreens, easily recognized by their 

 yellowish-green foliage. The leaves are scalelike rather than 

 needle-shaped, arranged in two rows on opposite sides of the 

 flat branchlets, and overlapping in such a way that leaves and 

 twigs seem fused. The cones are small, with loosely over- 

 lapping scales, and the wood is light, strong, free-splitting, 

 strongly aromatic and very durable. The bark is thin and peels 

 off easily in long fibrous shreds, varying from yellowish to brown 

 in color. 



i. WHITE CEDAR. Thuja occidentalis. Linnaeus. 



The American arbor- vitae or white cedar is the only represent- 

 ative of this genus in Canada east of the Great Plains. It is 

 a tree of the wet places, being usually 

 found in swamps or along streams where 

 it frequently crowds out almost all other 

 species. Its characteristic yellowish-green 

 foliage and thin bark, often hanging from 

 the trunk in shreds, make it easy to recog- 

 nize. It ranges all across Quebec and On- 

 tario to the southeastern part of Manitoba, 

 and is found in a small detached area about 

 Cedar Lake, near the mouth of the Sas- 

 FIG. 20. White katchewan river. 



As a source cf timber this tree has a 



special value. Its light strong wood resists decay to a remarka- 

 ble degree. During pioneer days it was the favorite rail timber, 



