USEFULNESS OF TREES. 175 



the mother-tree. India rubber is the dried juice 

 of another South American tree. This is obtained 

 by making cuts into the bark, from which the sap 

 flows plentifully of a milky whiteness. It is then 

 exposed to the sun, which dries it, and this is all 

 the preparation it undergoes. Another tree found 

 in hot countries is frequently useful to the natives, 

 by furnishing them with water. The wild pine 

 of Campeachy has deep leaves, which are so made 

 as to hold water: these are filled during the heavy 

 tropical showers, and serve both to refresh the 

 plant and as drink to the traveller. 



The wood of many trees is of a very beautiful 

 colour and takes a high polish, and is used for 

 furniture and ornamental purposes. Mahogany, 

 rose-wood, zebra-wood, ebony, and many others, 

 are important articles of commerce on this account, 

 the greatest part of our chairs and tables being 

 made from them. 



The cotton tree, however, affords the most valu- 

 able vegetable production for the use of man. It 

 is a shrubby tree growing in warm countries, and 

 produces a nut, in which the seeds are covered 

 by the soft downy substance called cotton. Vast 

 quantities of this are gathered every year, and the 

 making of it into cloth employs the labour of many 

 thousands of our countrymen. 



The varieties of the forest trees of the United 

 States are very numerous. Of the oak alone, as 

 many as ten varieties may be often seen from the 

 same spot. The firs and pines also abound here 



