82 NATURE STUDY MADE EASY 



burns ! How bright are the sparks ! It is the resin that the 

 plant has stored that burns so brightly. Have you ever made a 

 bonfire of your Christmas tree ? After the fun of the present-giving 

 is over, comes the fun of the bonfire. How the leaves crackle and 

 burn ! 



In olden times, when a torchlight procession was held, the 

 Scottish chiefs used pine torches to light the way. 



Have you ever seen amber ? It is often cut into beads which 

 are worn as necklaces. Do you know that the piece of amber from 

 which those necklaces were cut was once the juice of a pine tree? 

 Some great pines once grew on the shores of the Baltic Sea, in the 

 north of Europe (some still grow there), and they dropped their 

 gummy juice on the ground. This became hardened by the cold 

 air, and formed into the beautiful transparent stones which we 

 now proudly wear as necklaces and bracelets. 



Pine and fir trees are very generous. They give us tar, tur- 

 pentine, resin, balsam, and amber, while they live, and when they 

 are cut down, they give us wood to make our houses, floors, 

 and desks. Most of our school desks are made from the pine 

 trees. 



The wood of the fir tree is not quite as strong as that of the pine, 

 and when cut up it is called "deal." Think of the things that 

 you know are made of deal. Chairs, tables, boxes, floors, are often 

 made of deal. 



Most of the evergreen trees grow in the forests or on the hill- 

 sides of cold regions. 



