OR, PLAIN 



from the side of a main stem. 

 Their wood consists of tubes of 

 nearly equal diameter, among 

 which are here and there cavi- 

 ties which receive the resin that 

 exudes from the wood. The 

 leaves, 3, are articulated with the 

 stem, and very often are linear, 

 veinless, and sharp-pointed, but 

 there are some species with 

 broad and fern-like leaves. The 

 flowers are collected in scales, 5. 

 When the fruit is ripe, it con- 

 sists of a number of these scales 

 united into a cone, 2 ; most of 

 the scales have membraneous 

 wings, 4, attached to them, by 

 which their dispersion is as- 

 sisted. 



The Scotch pine, 1, in perfection, is a very 

 picturesque tree, though we do not sufficiently 

 regard its beauty. The colour of the leaf, and 

 the remarkable growth of the tree, are equally 

 objects for admiration. Its ramification, too- 

 is beautiful and irregular, and not unlike that 

 of the stone pine, which it resembles also in the 

 easy sweep of its stem, and likewise in the 

 colour of the bark, which, as it attains age, is of 

 a rich reddish brown. Its spiry points present 

 a good contrast with the round heads of oaks 

 and elms, and greatly improve the landscape. 



In America the pine forests 

 are of vast extent, and possess 



6 



610. 



indescribable grandeur. Captain 

 Wilkes describes those which he 



TEACHING. 227 



visited on the Oregon as being 

 magnificent. Mr. Drayton, who 

 was with him, took a camera 

 lucida drawing of one of the 

 largest trees, 6, which was quite 

 characteristic of the forest. The 

 largest tree represented in the 

 sketch was thirty -nine feet six 

 inches in circumference, eight 

 feet above the ground, and had a 

 bark eleven inches thick. The 

 height could not be ascertained, 

 but it was thought to be up- 

 wards of 250 feet, and the tree 

 was perfectly straight. 



Although in all, or most of 

 its species, inferior to the oak 

 in the strength and durability 

 of its tribes, the pine claims the 

 second place among valuable trees. 

 It is very abundant, its growth is 

 comparatively rapid, and its 

 wood, straight, elastic, and easily 

 worked. Accordingly, as oak is 

 the chief timber in building Ships 

 for the sea, pine is the principal 

 one for the construction of houses 

 upon land. It is the " builder's 

 timber," and as, when the car- 

 penter wants a post or beam of 

 peculiar durability, he has re- 

 course to the oak, so when the 

 shipwright wishes to have a 

 piece of timber that shall com- 

 bine tightness with great length, 

 as for a spar or mast, he makes 

 use of the pine. 



Of evergreen trees, the cedars 

 claim pre-eminence, not only on 

 account of their dignity, but be- 

 cause the cedars of Lebanon, 1, 

 are frequently mentioned in the 

 Holy Scriptures. Some suppose 

 the word cedar to be derived 

 from Cedron, a brook in Judea, 

 on the banks of which the 



