WHITE PINE. 
119 
No tree approaches so near to this well-marked species 
as the Bhotan Pine (P. excelsa ,) a native of the mountains 
of Nepaul in India. That species, honoured with the native 
title of the “ King of the Firs,” attains to the height of 
120 feet, and unlike our White Pine in its physical pro- 
perties yields an abundance of liquid resin. According to 
Mr. Lambert, who has made the Pines and Firs a special 
study, and illustrated their history by a splendid mono- 
graph, P . excelsa approaches so near in habit, and in the 
shape of its cones to P. Strobus , that, were it not for the 
simple, round, membranaceous crest of the anthers, it 
would be almost impossible to distinguish them specifically, 
still the leaves are longer and the cones thicker, and in its 
native soil it is remarkable for its drooping branches, 
whence it is frequently called the “ Weeping Fir,” by tra- 
vellers in the Himalayas. 
The timber of the Weymouth Pine continues to be 
exported to Britain in immense quantities; but it is consi- 
dered as very inferior to some of our other species, and to 
the pine timber of the north of Europe. Mr. Copland, an 
extensive builder and timber-merchant, (according to 
McCulloch), when examined before Parliament as to the 
comparative value of European and American Timber, 
affirmed, that “ the American pine is much inferior in 
quality, much softer in its nature, not so durable, and very 
liable to dry rot; indeed it is not allowed by any professional 
man under government to be used; nor is it ever employed 
in the best buildings in London ; it is only speculators that 
are induced to use it, from the price of it being much 
lower (in consequence of its exemption from duty) than 
the Baltic timber. If you were to lay two planks of 
American timber upon each other, in the course of a 
twelvemonth they would have the dry rot, almost invari- 
ably, to a certain extent.” McCulloch adds, that “ many 
passages to the same effect might be produced from the 
