PRODUCTIONS, 8te.—BOOK I. 
61 
Amongst the forest trees of this country, the cedar, (juni- 
perus virginiana,) the cotton wood, (populus anguliscus,) and. 
the peccanne, (juglans olivse formus) deserve particular atten¬ 
tion. The cedar, grows in great abundance and perfection. 
There are fine groves, on the Maramek, St. Francis, Missouri, 
and on the Mississippi. Some very large islands in the Missou¬ 
ri are covered with this tree. The houses in the villages are ge¬ 
nerally built of this wood, which is also used for their enclo¬ 
sures. The cotton wood (so called from a down which it casts 
off in the spring, with which the air is filled like fleeces of snow) 
does not appear to have attracted as much attention as it de¬ 
serves. It is invariably found on the river bottoms of the Mis¬ 
sissippi, and Missouri, and after the willow, is the first; tre» 
which springs up on alluvion soils. The more ancient islands 
of the rivers west of the Mississippi, as well as on that river, 
are covered with this tree; it adds much to the beauty of the 
scenery, from its lofty and uniform appearance, and the deep 
green of its foliage contrasted with the light color of the river. 
The growth of this tree is extremely rapid; it shoots up in the 
course of a few years, into a noble column, several feet in dia¬ 
meter, and forty or fifty in height, before it becomes lost in 
branches. It permits no part lately gained from the river to re¬ 
main long without timber; and will afford wood to the settlers 
of adjacent prairie, which could not otherwise be settled, as it 
answers extremely well for rails and fuel. The peccanne,* is 
found on the low grounds, where it grows to most perfection; 
it is a large tree resembling somewhat the hickory, but has a 
more delicate leaf, its branches are more numerous and spread¬ 
ing, and it is in every respect a more beautiful tree. There were 
formerly beautiful groves of it in the American bottom, (Illinois) 
but they have been nearly destroyed in order to procure the 
nuts. The sugar tree (acer saccharinus) is found in the pre¬ 
sent limits of the settlements, but not far to the west, or to the 
ture, is truly surprising ; kind and bounteous nature, seems to have fur¬ 
nished vines suited to every climate and soil; so that no part of the hu¬ 
man race should be denied this general blessing. 
* It is one of the principal ornamental trees of the plantations on the 
lower parts of the Mississippi. 
