THE CONIFEROUS TIMBERS OF CANADA, ETC. 43 
California and, together with those forests, occupied in 
former ages most of the hills and valleys which extended 
far north. Submerged forests of these trees have been 
found in the swamps of rivers running into the Gulf 
of Mexico, and specimen logs, with an estimated age of 
10,000 years, have been discovered in the New Orleans 
Drainage Canal, 18 ft. below the present sea-level of 
the Gulf. It is essentially a swamp tree at the present 
time and grows, more or less, in water. In many 
respects it 1s similar to the red-wood of the West 
Coast, having however considerably more strength 
than that Californian wood. 
Its chief qualities are its clean growth, durability, and 
the absence of any chemical in the wood that will 
impart odour or colour. Having these latter qualities, 
it is a good material for tanks, vats, etc., for which it 
is largely used in the States. The timber is shipped to 
market in well-converted planks and boards, but has 
not made very rapid progress as yet in the estimation 
of British consumers. 
An abundant quantity of other con‘ferous species, 
of more or less value, which grow in Canada, the United 
States, Mexico, and other countries in the Western 
hemisphere, might be mentioned, but the limits of these 
pages preclude such a list, and attention has, therefore, 
been confined to those only which are imported and 
commercially dealt with in the English markets. 
