The Fir. 



which is made use of for this purpose, but that he, Michaux, 

 had seen the process of making the beer many times, and 

 that it was always made of the Black Spruce, and not of the 

 White; to which I can add my not very little experience, 

 having had no other sort of drink, except by mere accident, 

 for seven years of my life. The copper in which we used to 

 boil our beer, was built at the foot of a high and steep rock, 

 which was covered with these Black Spruces. We used 

 first to cut down the trees, then chop oft' the branches, or 

 rather the points of the branches, then tie these up into 

 little fagots, and toss them from the top of the rock down 

 into the copper, jocosely dignifying the article by the name 

 of malt ; when it had boiled sufficiently along with the 

 treacle, we used to let it ferment, then take it out (each 

 company having its allowance per day), carry it in open 

 tubs (old pork barrels), to our quarters, and the plenty 

 was such, that each man came when he liked with the 

 bottom of an old canteen, or some other such article, and 

 regaled himself, upon the proceeds of these boughs ; so 

 that few people understand more about this matter than 

 I do; and I agree with Monsieur Michaux, that it is the 

 Black and not the White Spruce, that is used for this pur- 

 pose. This is also a singularly beautiful tree ; its branches 

 extend out in a horizontal direction. The summit is a re- 

 gular pyramid, and, in all respects, this appears to me to 

 be the best of the Spruces. The sixth sort, or Hemlock 

 Spruce, is a native of the same country, attains about the 

 same height (about /O or 80 feet), is deemed a very beau- 

 tiful tree, grows to a larger bulk in the trunk, is very much 

 esteemed as an ornamental tree in the United States of 

 America ; it is in fact, in look, a spiral Yew tree, only, perhaps, 

 ten times as high ; and, though the properties of its wood are 

 such as to make it the least valuable as timber of all the 

 large resinous trees of North America, its hark is used for 



