452 BY STEAMER TO YENESEISK 



root and trailing on the ground, extends nearly as far north 

 as the larch — say to lat. 69°. It is a very important tree 

 for commercial purposes. Its wood is white, of very 

 small specific gravity, extremely elastic, and is said not to 

 lose its elasticity by age. It makes the best masts for 

 ships, and is for oars the best substitute for ash. Snow- 

 shoes are generally made of this wood. The quality is 

 good down to the roots, and it makes the best " knees " 

 for ship-building, knees which do not require to be cut 

 out of the solid, or artificially bent. It is, however, subject 

 to very hard knots, and care must be taken not to blunt 

 the edge of the axe in cutting it. 



Siberian spruce fir {Larix sibiricd). This tree differs 

 from the common spruce in having a smooth bark of an 

 ash-grey colour ; its leaves are also of a much darker 

 blue-green. We did not meet with it further north than 

 lat. 63". It has little commercial value, being soft and 

 apt to crack and decay. The ease with which it is split 

 causes it to be abundantly used for firewood and for 

 roofing. 



Pine or Scotch fir [Pinus sylvestris). This well-known 

 tree scarcely extended so far north even as the preceding, 

 say to lat. 62^^°. 



The Swiss Pine or "Cedar" {Pinus cembrd) resembles 

 in appearance the Scotch fir, but its timber is said to have 

 a much higher marketable value. It is dark, but not so 

 dark as larch, and there is very little of the white inferior 

 wood next to the bark. If stacked too long in the forest 

 it is liable to be attacked by worms, but for furniture and 

 indoor use it is the best timber to be found in Siberia. 

 It is reputed never to rot, shrink, warp, or crack. Soft 

 and easy to work, it is nevertheless of fine grain, and is 

 almost free from knots. The Ostiaks build their ships of 

 it. They hew down a trunk two or three feet in diameter. 



