IN THE CANADIAN WOODS. 129 



leaves of the maple, poplar, beech and birch, as they 

 greet the soft winds of April and May, and flutter forth 

 into full free life. The very bark on the twigs takes a 

 living freshness of tint and color, in place of the dull 

 hard deadness of its winter hue. 



In April the sap rises in the dark thready foliage of 

 the pines, and the heavy boughs of the hemlock and 

 spruce, those faithful hardy evergreens of the forest, 

 brightening the sombre growth of former seasons with a 

 rich full tender verdure, harbinger of the brighter tints 

 of later trees. 



Then the American larch — the tamarac of the Indians 

 — begins to put forth her light green leaves and hang 

 out her rosy tassels of red buds all along the slender 

 pendent branches. Beautiful as flowers are these soft 

 red cones peeping out from the clusters of delicate 

 thready leaves which guard them, and forming delight- 

 ful contrasts to the deeper shades of the surrounding 

 foliage. 



It is the tough, elastic roots of the tamarac that are 

 chiefly used by the Indians in making their birch-bark 

 canoes. This is the " wah-tap," which, after it has been 

 stripped from the yellow bark, and- steeped for many 

 hours in water to render it more supple, is coiled away 

 ready for use. 



The graceful tassels, or " catkins," as they are com- 

 monly called, of the willow and the birch, which have 

 been growing in secret all through last autumn, are 



