r, white pine being the principal timber of New
England and Canada."

"And they float it down the rivers on rafts, don't they?" said Malcolm.
"Won't you tell us about that, Miss Harson?"

"Yes," was the reply.--"But do not look so expectant, Edie; it is not a
story, dear, only a description of pine-cutting in the forests of Maine
and Canada. But I should like you to know how these great trees are
turned into timber, and you will see that, like many other necessary
things, it is neither easy nor pleasant. We do not get much without hard
work on the part of somebody: remember that. Now I will read:

"'The business of procuring trees suitable for masts of ships is
difficult and fatiguing. The pines which grew in the neighborhood of the
rivers and in the most accessible places have all been cut down. Paths
have now to be cleared with immense labor to the recesses of the forest,
in order to obtain a fresh supply. This arduous employment is called
"lumbering," and those who engage in it are "lumberers." The word
"lumber," in its general sense, applies to all kinds of timber. But
though many different trees, such as oak, ash and maple, are cut down,
yet the main business is with the pines. And when a suitable plot of
ground has been chosen for erecting a saw-mill,' to prepare the boards,
'it is called "pine-land," or a spot where the pine trees predominate.

"'A body of wood-cutters unite to form what is called a
"lumbering-party," and they are in the employ of a master-lumberman, who
pays them wages and finds them in provisions. The provisions are
obtained on credit and under promise of payment when the timber has been
cut down and sold. If the timber meets with any accident in its passage
down the river, the master-lumberman cannot make good the loss, and the
shopkeeper loses his money.

"'When the lumbering-party are ready to start, they take with them a
supply of necessaries, and also what tools they will require, and
proceed up the river to the heart of the forest. When they reach a
suitable spot where the giant trees which are to serve for masts grow
thick and dark, they get all their supplies on shore--their axes, their
cooking-utensils and the casks of molasses'--and too often of whisky or
rum, too, I am sorry to say--'that will be used lavishly. The molasses
is used instead of sugar to sweeten the great draughts of tea--made, not
from the product of China, but from the tops of the hemlock.

"'The first thing to