12 
THE CANADIAN NATURALIST 
springs and the seed is scattered. After I had felled the 
balsam I spoke of^ I was surprised to see near the top^ great 
numbers of upright pointed stalks^ like thorns,, about an inch 
and a half long ; but found on examination that these were 
the axes or centres of the cones^ which had been stripped 
of their scales in falling, by the shock ; for from the cones 
that were still perfect, (it was in March,) the scales, which 
were standing loosely out at right angles to the axis, came 
off on the slightest touch ; and the snow for many feet 
round the top of the fallen tree was thickly strewn with 
those which had been shaken off. 
C, — I have observed in all trees of this family, that the 
cones are congregated at the extreme summit of the tree. 
Have you mentioned all the resinous trees ? 
F, — No : there is one of majestic size, and of no little 
importance, which I have omitted : — the White Cedar, 
which belongs, notwithstanding its general resemblance to 
the pines, to a different genus. It is the Thuja Occidentalis 
of botanists. The leaves are small, and curiously imbricated 
or lapped over each other ; the branches slender, and usually 
pendent ; the bark fibrous and stringy : from the facility with 
which it is split, but chiefly from its great durability, almost 
incorruptibility, it is in great request for the rails that 
compose those unsightly zigzag fences, so offensive to the 
eye of one accustomed to the verdant and blooming hedge- 
rows of England. Cedar rails may be exposed to every 
vicissitude of weather for a man's lifetime, without manifest- 
ing any symptom of decay, except the separation of the 
bark. It chiefly grows in marshes, and so densely as to 
render them almost impenetrable. A cedar swamp is a 
valuable addition to a Canadian farm ; and with us they are 
already getting scarce, and no providence seems to be ma- 
nifested for the future. 
