RED-WOOD PINE. 



63 



the felloe shod itself with stone, and thus became 

 capable of enduring the friction of the road for a 

 long time, the toughness and elasticity of the willow 

 retaining the gravel till the stone was worn aw^ay. 

 Under much exposm*e to blow^s and friction, this 

 willow outlasts every other home timber. When 

 recently cut, the matured wood is slightly reddish, 

 and the sap-wood white. When exposed to the air 

 and gradually dried, both are of salmon colom% and 

 scarcely distinguishable from each other. Willow- 

 bark is used in tanning ; it also contains a bitter, 

 said to be febrifuge. 



RED-WOOD PINE PiuUS. 



This tribe of the order Coniferae, at once the 

 most useful, and the most plentifidly and widely ex- 

 tended over the North temperate zone — that por- 

 tion of the earth more congenial to man, and which 

 contains about four-fifths of his numbers, has a simi- 

 litude of character and qualities more distinguish- 

 able by one glance of the eye than by laboured de- 

 scription. It consists of a number of kinds, which 

 again divide into families and individuals percepti- 

 bly different from each other. The following are 

 those whos e timber is best known to us : 



