NORTH AMERICA. 



67 



northern tree. The willows are numerous ; the basket willow {Salix viminalis) takes its name from 

 its economical use ; the yellow willow is an exotic. The American elm {Ulmus Americana) towera 

 to the height of 90 or 100 feet in the northern latitudes, but is much inferior in the southern parts of 

 the country. The winged elm {U. alata), or wahoo, and the slippery elm (f/. fulva), remarkable 



Blue Jlsh. 



Basket Willoic. 



Yellow Willow. 



Wakoo. 



for its mucilaginous bark, are smaller trees. There are several very valuable pines in North Ameri- 

 ca, particularly the white pine (Pinus strohus), a northern tree, and the long-leaved pine (P. palus- 

 tres), which is confined to the southern districts. The former sometimes reaches the height of 170 

 or 180 feet, with a trunk of 6 or 7 feet in diameter, and is much used for masts, and also for the 

 ornamental work of houses and vessels ; the wood is soft, light, and free from knots. The latter 

 does not reach more than half the height of the white pine, but is very abundant throughout the 

 broad belt of low country from the Chesapeake to the Mississippi. The wood is much used for ship- 

 building, and it furnishes great quantities of tar, pitch, turpentine, and rosin to commerce. The red 

 or Norway pine {P. resinosa), properly a Canadian tree, and the yellow pine, which abounds in the 

 central districts of the United States, are also valuable trees. The New Jersey pine, (P. inops), and 



JYcw Jerscij Pine. 



Long-leaved Pine. Norway Pine. 



.fie loblolly pine (P. tada), are less important. The pitch pine (P. rigida) is a large and valuable 

 ree. On the west of the Rocky Mountains, a gigantic species (P. lambtrfiana), sometimes reaches 

 the height of 200 feet, with a trunk 12 or 15 feet in diameter ; there are seven other species in that 

 region. The most important spruces have already been mentioned. The hackmatack or American 

 larch (Larix microcarpa), is rare in the United States, but abundant further north; it is a magnifi- 

 cent tree, about 100 feet high, and the wood is highly valued. The bald cypress ( Taxodiuvi disti- 



Pitch Pine. 



Hackmatack. 



Red Cedar. 



