PINETUM DANICUM. 



443 



The wood of the Hemlock Spruce, according to Michaux, is less 

 valuable than that of any other of the large resinous trees of North 

 America ; but the bark is of inestimable value for the purposes of the 

 tanner. It is always esteemed an excellence in wood to split in a 

 straight line, which it does Avlien the fibre is vertical ; but that of the 

 Hemlock Spruce is so oblique that it makes the circuit of trunks 

 1 foot 3 inches to 1 foot 8 inches in diameter in ascending five or 

 six feet. Besides this defect, which is general, and which renders it 

 unfit for rural fences, the old trees frequently have their concentric 

 circles separated at intervals, or, in the language of the country, are 

 shaky, which greatly impairs their strength. This eff'ect is produced by 

 the winds, which have a powerful hold upon the large compact summit 

 formed by the head of the Hemlock Spruce, exposed, as it generally 

 is, above the tops of the surrounding trees. The wood is found to 

 decay rapidly when exposed to the atmosphere, and is therefore un- 

 suited for the external covering of houses, which is another important 

 defect in a country where nearly all the houses are of wood, but when 

 covered it is of great durability ; and as the White Pine (P. Strobus) 

 becomes rarer, the Hemlock Sjiruce is substituted for it as extensively 

 as possible. It is firmer, though coarser grained ; affords a tighter 

 hold to nails, and offers more resistance to the impression of other 

 bodies. For this reason it is employed, in the district of Maine, in 

 the form of two-inch planks for threshing-floors. But the most 

 common use, in which great quantities are consumed in the Northern 

 States, is for the first sheathing of wooden houses, which are after- 

 wards covered over with clap-boards of White Pine. For economy, 

 the interior frame is also often made of Hemlock Spruce, and it 

 is found, when guarded from the damp, to be as desirable as any 

 other species. It is always chosen for the laths of the interior 

 walls, and it is exported in this form to England. In the district of 

 Maine it is usually taken for the posts of rural fences, which last about 

 fifteen years, and are preferable to those of the Grey and Red Oaks 

 (Quercus amhigua and Q. rubra). It contains little resin, and the trunk 

 is but slightly coated with turpentine, even where large pieces of 

 bark have been a long time removed. The bark, when used for 

 tanning, is taken from the tree in the month of June, and half the 

 epidermis is shaved ofi" with a plane before it is thrown into the mill. 

 From the district of Maine it is exported to Boston, Providence, &c., 

 and is almost exclusively employed in the tanyards at those places. It 

 is brought to New York from the upper parts of the Hudson, and is 

 sometimes carried to Baltimore. Its deep red colour is imparted to 

 the leather ; and, though it is inferior to the bark of the Oak, the 

 American tanners think the bark of the two kinds united are better 

 than either of them alone. Hemlock Spruce bark was once exported 

 to England, but the commerce has ceased with the demand. The 

 Indians are said to use it in dyeing their light baskets made of Red 



