“I hope it will be a great while,” remarked Mr. Davenport, “before we are as badly off for wood as they are in some parts of the old world. What would you think of buying fire-wood by the pound? Yet this is the way it is sold in Paris and many other European cities. A man who had travelled a great deal, once told me that he had known wood to sell at the rate of eighty-five dollars a cord, in Naples. In France, and Spain, too, wood is very scarce, and as but little coal is used, the people learn to be very economical in the use of fuel. He says it would cost a fortune for a man to keep up such fires in his house, in Paris, as we do here. The trimmings of fruit trees and grape vines, and everything that will burn, is carefully saved. Lumber, for building purposes, is also much dearer than it is here, and is much less used than with us. But some people think the time will come when wood and lumber will be as dear here as they are now in Europe.”
Patches of fenced lands, some of which had evidently been cultivated, now began to appear, and in a few minutes a little settlement of farm-houses became visible; but the travellers did not stop, and were soon again in the forests, with no signs of civilization around them but the road upon which they travelled. Most of the pine trees had been cut down, in this tract, but a few lofty and noble specimens remained, as if to show what had been there. The stumps of these departed giants of the forest were scattered in every direction, and some of them were of great size. They had no measuring tape, but Mr. Davenport, after carefully examining one of these stumps, calculated that it measured fully seventeen feet in circumference, at the “cut.” There was a pine still standing, near by, which he thought would measure almost as much as this. Its height he estimated at one hundred and thirty feet.
But though there were few white pines left, there was no lack of trees. Among those which Clinton recognized, was a small, scraggy species of pine; the stiff, cone-shaped cedar; the mountain ash, with its clusters of bright red berries; the noble and cleanly beech; the thrifty, broad-headed butternut; the graceful birch, with its silvery trunk; the maple, the larch, the spruce, etc. There was also a dense growth of smaller trees or bushes, among which he found the hazel, filbert, moose-wood, alder, bear-berry, winter-green, and other familiar shrubs. The conversation turned upon the properties and uses of these several trees,—for Mr. Davenport always improved such occasions for giving Clinton useful information concerning the objects around him. He told him what an excellent substitute beech leaves were for straw, for filling beds; and how valuable the sugar-maples will one day be considered, when the people get in the way of making sugar as an article of export; and how the Shakers use the wood of the butternut for making bowls, and sell the bark to the apothecaries for medicinal purposes; and how fond the partridge is of the little red bear-berries.
“As to the birches, which are so plenty along here, I suppose you already know something of their peculiar virtues,” continued Mr. Davenport.
“I guess a few of the boys at school discovered what they are good for, this winter,” replied Clinton, with a laugh.
“Well, I made the same discovery myself, when I went to school,” added Mr. Davenport. “The master got out of birch rods, one day, and sent me off to cut some. The tree which we usually patronized for this purpose was near by a pond where there happened to be excellent skating; and as my skates were handy, I having hid them under a log before going into school, I thought I would take a turn or two round the pond, after cutting the twigs. I did so; and then returned to school, with half a dozen long, stout rods. As the master took them, he said, with a smile, ‘Ah, these look nice, but the proof of the pudding is in the eating, so I will just test them a little.’ I laughed at his pleasantry, and turned to go to my seat, when he said, ‘Here, sir, come back, I’m in earnest—I want to test these a little before you take your seat.’ And sure enough, he did test one of the longest of them, so that I carried proofs of its virtues upon my legs for several days after. ‘There,’ said he, after he had satisfied himself, ‘these rods will do very well; now you may go to your seat, and when I send you after the next lot, don’t you stop to skate on the pond!’ I afterwards learned that he grew suspicious of my long absence, and sent out a boy to see what had become of me, who reported to him that I was skating. Ever since that day, I have had a very lively recollection of the virtues of the birch tree.”
“Master Eaton often says boys are subject to some complaints that have to be doctored on the botanical system—he says there is nothing but oil of birch that will save them,” remarked Clinton.
“Speaking of the oil of birch,” said Mr. Davenport, “did you know that it is valuable for tanning leather, as well as boys’ hides?”
“No, sir, I didn’t know there was really such a thing as the oil of birch,” replied Clinton. “I thought people used the words only in fun.”
“There is such a substance, and it is said to be used in tanning hides, and currying leather, in Russia. They distil it from the outside bark of the tree. Did you never notice that the birch-bark often remains entire, after the tree to which it belonged has gone to decay?”