44 
FLOEA OF THE SOUTH. 
Next in value to the cypress, and perliaps more inex- 
haustible, is the long-leaf pine, which is taken to the mills 
along the seaboard, or shipped in logs to Europe or the 
West Indies. 
Suitable sticks for masts or spars in ship -building are 
greatly in demand at vBry lucrative prices, and a great 
quantity of this description of timber is purchased for the 
French- navy. 
In the counties bordering on the sea-shore, the pine is 
made to afford a considerable supply of tar and charcoal, 
much of which is taken across the lake to New Orleans. 
The long-leaf pine is not found in any quantity north 
of the 31st degree, but the short-leaf pine extends to Ten- 
nessee. 
The live oak is highly prized as an ornamental shade 
tree, but does not now exist on our coast in such abun- 
dance as to farnish any considerable supply of timber for 
ship-building. It is not found north of the 31st degree. 
The geographical distribution of some of our forest 
trees seems to be well defined. For example, the Magno- 
lia tripetala (umbrella tree), as a prevailing growtli, seems 
to be confined to a narrow belt extending northwardly 
from our southern boundary, in a direction parallel with 
the general couree of the Mississippi river, and twelve or 
fifteen miles to the east of it. 
I have not met with it north of the 33d degree of north 
latitude, which seems also to be about the northern limit 
of the Spanish moss, Tillandsia usneoides. 
Over extensive districts of country a single species of 
timber sometimes is found to prevail almost exclusively, 
with the exception of the inferior shrubs and plants that 
constitute the undergrowth. This is the case, mainly, with 
the long and short-leaf pine, which, though sometimes 
