THE SPRUCE FIR. 



397 



and which are so light that they may be carried on a man's 

 shoulders when the navigation is interrupted by a rapid 

 or cascade, have their planks fastened together by strings 

 made of the roots, so that not a single nail is used in their 

 construction. The long and slender roots are chosen for 

 this purpose ; they are rendered flexible by splitting them 

 down the middle, and by boiling them for two or three 

 hours in water, mixed with alkali and sea-salt. They are 



OALL OF SPRUCE FIR. 



the]i dried and twisted into cordage, which is used instead 

 of hemp, both for naval and agricultural purposes. From 

 a decoction of the young shoots Spruce beer is made. 



Spruce Firs in this country are liable to serious depre- 

 dations either from squirrels or crossbills, which gnaw off 

 about six inches of the young shoots, and let them fall to 

 the ground, sometimes in such quantities as to carpet the 

 soil. It is scarcely decided which of the two animals is 

 the culprit ; but the visits of either are much dreaded by 



