456 



HISTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM. 



of tlie species are eaten as nuts. They are chiefly 

 natives of the northern, temperate, and arctic 

 regions, a few only being found in the southern 

 hemisphere. 



The family has been divided into thirteen 

 genera, containing a considerable number of spe- 

 cies. The genera are : — 



Firms, the Fir. 



Allies, Spruce. 



Lai-i^, Larch. 



Slmbertia, Deciduous Cypress. 



Cupressis, Cypresa. 



Thuja, Arbor Vitse. 



Juniperus, Juniper. 



Araucaria, New Holland Pine. 



Belis, Javelin-sliaped. ' 



Agailius, Dammer Pine. 



Exocarpus, Cypress-like. 



Podocarpus, Cliinese Pine. 



Taxus, Yew. 



The Pine (pinus). This name is of Celtic 

 origin, and is tlie same in all the dialects of that 

 tongue. Pin, or pen, signifies a rock or moun- 

 tain, the chief favoui-ite locality of this tribe of 

 trees. 



Although in all, or most of its species, infe- 

 rior to the ofik in the strength or the durability 

 of its timber, the pine, perhaps, claims the 

 second place among valuable trees. It is very 

 abundant, its growth is comparatively rapid, and 

 its wood is straight, elastic, and easily worked. 

 Accordingly, as oak is the chief timber in build- 

 ing ships for the sea, pine is the principal one in 

 the construction of houses upon land. It is "tlie 

 builder's timber:" and as, when the carpenter 

 wants a post or a beam of peculiar strength and 

 durability, be has recourse to the oak ; so when 

 the sliipwright wishes to have a piece of timber 

 tliat shall combine lightness with great length, 

 as for a spar or mast, he makes use of the pine. 

 The distinct species of pines enumerated by 

 botanists are upwards of twenty. None of 

 these bear flat leaves, but a sort of spines, which, 

 however, are true leaves. They are mostly ever- 

 greens ; but the appearance of the tree, as well 

 as the quality of the timber, varies with the spe- 

 cies, as also with the situation in which it grows. 

 Generally speaking, the timber is the more hard 

 and durable the colder the situation, and the 

 slower the tree grows ; and in peculiar positions 

 it is not unusual to find the northern half of a 

 common pine hard and red, while the southern 

 half, though considerably thicker from the pith 

 to the bark, is white, soft, and spungy. 



No account can be given of the first use of the 

 different species of pines by the natives of the 

 countries where they are indigenous. The cedar 

 of Lebanon appears to have been used from the 

 earliest periods of Syrian history. The Romans, 

 and after them the Venetians, made use of the 

 larch for architectural aud household purposes, 



as well as in the construction of their galleys 

 and vessels. The Norwegians and Danes con- 

 structed their first ships of the pines of the Scan- 

 dinavian mountains. Upon the Gulph of Both- 

 nia, near the borders of Lapland, at the bottom 

 of one of the forests sloping towards a bay, Dr 

 Clarke saw a pine vessel <Jf forty-six tons, just 

 launched, which had been built by the natives 

 upon one of the wildest scenes of the coast, with- 

 out the aid of docks, or any other convenience 

 required by marine architects. The people of 

 the northern parts of Britain still make their 

 boats, and the rudest of them even their cordage, 

 of the pine ; and though the timber of the pines 

 of the New World be, flpon the whole, less 

 hard and durable than those of Europe, it is 

 employed for ship building, as well as for domes- 

 tic purposes. The pine found in the bogs of 

 Ireland is of a very superior quality, and used 

 by the inhabitants for many purposes. Some 

 persons of rank in that country have halls and 

 otlier apartments floored with bog-pine ; while, 

 in several districts, it is the only timber of the 

 peasants, who make of it their wooden utensils, 

 and also their cordage. It is perfectly proof 

 against the worm ; and seems, in durability, 

 almost to rival the cedar itself. From the greater 

 ease with which it can be worked, and its apti- 

 tude to receive and retain paint, pine is now 

 chiefly employed in the roofs, floors, and inter- 

 nal finishing of houses; — the European sort, 

 where it has to bear a strain, or is exposed to 

 wearing, — and the softer kinds, from America, 

 for internal mouldings and ornaments. 



As is the case now with a great part of Canada, 

 Norway, Sweden, the eastern shore of the Baltic, 

 and some considerable tracts of the Highlands of 

 Scotland, it is probable that, in very early ages, 

 great part of Britain, with those islands towards 

 the north, in which there is now hardly a shrub 

 of any kind, were covered by pine forests. There 

 has been much controversy amongst the learned 

 whether the pine was indigenous to England. 

 Caesar expressly says that Britain had all the 

 trees of Gaul, except the beech and fir. It is 

 remarkable, however, that our names for the 

 beech are derived from the Roman word fagus; 

 but the fir has three names, which are purely 

 British — this would seem to justify the conclu- 

 sion, that the tree was not introduced by the 

 Romans, but was originally British. The fir 

 is perpetually discovered in such of our mosses 

 as were certainly prior to the time of the Romans; 

 remains of the tree have been found, not only 

 on the sides of Roman roads, but actually under 

 them. But a more complete proof of the ancient 

 existence of pine forests in England has been 

 afforded by a minute examination of an exten- 

 sive district called Hatfield Chase, in Yorkshire. 

 This curious subject was investigated with great 

 diligence by the Rev. A. De la Pryme, and the 



