184 FOREST TREES. 
ridges, and in the coldest exposures of the Alleghany 
Mountains. In the soils and climates which best suit 
it, it is extensively multiplied; and constitutes a large 
proportion of the evergreen forests in the regions 
where it grows. When full grown it is seventy or 
eighty feet in height, with a trunk of nearly uniform 
diameter for two-thirds of its length; but it often 
reaches the height of one hundred feet or more. It 
grows in lighter and dryer soils than the Black Spruce, 
but very dry situations do not suit 1t. 
The wood of the Hemlock is coarse in its texture, 
and not very durable; but it is stronger than the 
White Pine, gives a better hold to nails, and for rough 
work generally is equally serviceable. It is exten- 
sively substituted for the White Pine where the latter 
has become scarce; and it is to be regretted that 
economy in this respect is not more regarded in the 
Western States. For joists, rafters and beams—for 
the sheathing of roofs, and the sides of wooden houses 
it is preferable to Pine. As the cost of manufacture 
and transportation is as great as that of White Pine, 
and its value in market less, it is not likely to be 
much used while Pine is abundant. 
According to Michaux, the grain of the wood is so 
oblique, or rather spiral, that it makes the circuit of 
the tree in ascending a few feet. It is true that this 
is sometimes the case, as it is in the Oak and other 
kinds of timber; but as far as my own observation 
extends, it is only of occasional occurrence, and 
cannot be cited as an objection to the species 
generally. . 
