"There are upward of twenty species of Pinus, of which one half are natives of Canada, Nova Scotia, or Newfoundland.
"Pinus Balsamea (Balm of Gilead Fir, or American Silver Fir) grows to the height of fifty feet, and is an elegant tree, resembling the silver fir of Europe. The resin of this species is the common Canada Balsam, which is often substituted for the Balm of Gilead. It is found in small blisters on the bark, extracted by incision, and received in a limpid state into a shell or cup. This tree has long been cultivated for curiosity in England, but in general, though it grows to a considerable size and height, scarcely survives above twenty years, which seems to be the natural period of its existence. Mr. Lambert mentions some older trees of this species at Woburn and Warwick Castle.
"Pinus Canadensis (Hemlock Spruce) is a beautiful and very large tree, bearing some resemblance in its foliage to the common yew. Peter Collinson records his having introduced this tree to the English collections in 1736, and a fine specimen of it is, or was, in his garden at Mill Hill.
"Pinus Nigra (Black or Double Spruce) is found from Canada to Nova Scotia, and terminates in latitude 65°. It was introduced into England about the year 1700, but not much cultivated there.
"Pinus Alba (White Spruce) flourishes from latitude 43° northward. Its growth is nearly equal to that of the European silver fir, 140 feet in height. It is one of the most ornamental of the Abies tribe (those having single, not fasciculated leaves); the branches feather down to the ground, and the leaves have a beautiful and peculiar glaucous hue. From the young shoots of this tree (also from Pinus Nigra) is obtained the resinous extract from which spruce beer is made: good turpentine is obtained from the bark. This tree was cultivated in England by Bishop Compton before 1700.
"Pinus Resinosa (Pitch Pine) grows in Canada in close forests, and is distinguished for its great height and smooth red bark, whence it is often called Red Pine by the French population. This tree is the glory of Canada. Its timber, in color, quality, and durability, appears to be in every respect equal to the best Riga, and in one particular superior, that of being quite free from knots. It was first raised in England by the Duke of Northumberland at Zion House, where many of this species are still to be seen flowering in May.
"Pinus Banksiana (Labrador Scrub, or Gray Pine) inhabits cold, barren, and rocky situations. The finest trees of this species in England are at Pain's Hill and Kew.
"Pinus Strobus (White, or Weymouth Pine) is the largest species on the eastern side of the Rocky Mountains, being sometimes 200 feet high, and the trunk five feet in diameter. The attention which Lord Weymouth, afterward Marquis of Bath, gave to the cultivation of this valuable tree has justly stamped it with his name. It is now generally diffused through every considerable plantation in England. When growing in open situations, it is feathered to the ground; but, as generally found in the Canadian forests, it is little more than an immense stick with a quantity of brush at its head, in about the same proportion as the hair on the tail of an elephant. It is of this tree that in general the forests of all British America are composed, and it is, in fact, peculiar to America. It is called in commerce White Pine, Yellow Pine, or American Pine. The timber is very valuable for masts. The age to which this tree arrives is not known: 1500 annular divisions have been counted.
"Pinus Pendula (Black Larch, or Hackmatack) is a beautiful and large tree, generally resembling the larch of Europe. The buds are black, and yield a fine turpentine. This tree was first raised in England by the celebrated Peter Collinson, whose original tree, one of the treasures of the Mill Hill garden, was cut down about the year 1800 to make a rail! Few exotics are more worthy of general cultivation. The wood is at least equal to the European larch.
"Pinus Microcarpa (Red Larch) resembles the preceding so much, that Michaux and Wildman confounded the two species together. The red larch, however, is now clearly distinguished as a distinct kind. It is named by the voyageurs L'Epinette Rouge, and by the Hudson's Bay men Juniper."—H. Murray's British America, vol. iii., p. 328; R. M. Martin, p. 254; Rees's Cyclopædia, art. Pinus.