imals, nestling in the bed of dry leaves that cover the ground, find
shelter and repose. The squirrel feeds upon the kernels obtained from
its cones; the hare browses upon the trefoil'--clover--'and the spicy
foliage of the _hypericum_'--St. John's wort--'which are protected in
its shade; and the fawn reposes on its brown couch of leaves unmolested
by the outer tempest. From its green arbors the quails are often roused
in midwinter, where they feed upon the berries of the _Mitchella_ and
the spicy wintergreen. Nature, indeed, seems to have specially designed
this tree to protect her living creatures both in summer and
in winter.'"

"Hurrah for the white pine," said Malcolm, with great energy, "the grand
old _American_ tree!"

"I'm glad that the little birds and animals have such a nice home under
it in winter," said Clara.

"I'm glad too," added Edith, "but I wish we could find some and see how
they look in their soft bed. Don't they ever put their heads out the
least bit, Miss Harson?"

"Not when they suspect that there is any one around, dear, and the
little creatures are very sharp to find this out. Our heavenly Father,
you know, takes thought for sparrows and all such helpless things, and
they are fed and cared for without any thought of their own.--The white
pine," she continued, "is truly a magnificent tree, but I think we shall
find that the pitch-pine is also very useful."

"That's the rough one," said Malcolm; "I remember how it looks, with
little tufts sticking out along the trunk."

"Yes," replied his governess, "and out authority says this tree is
distinguished by its leaves being in threes--the white pine, you know,
has them in _fives_--by the rigidity and sharpness of the scales of its
cones, by the roughness of its bark, and by the denseness of the brushes
of its stiff, crowded leaves. Its usual height is from forty to fifty
feet, but it is sometimes much taller. The trunk is not only rough, but
very dark in color; and from this circumstance the species is frequently
called black pine. The wood is very hard and firm, and contains a
quantity of resin. This is much more abundant in the branches than in
the trunk, and the boards and other lumber of this wood are usually full
of pitch-knots."

"What are pitch-knots?" asked Clara.

"'When a growing branch,'" read Miss Harson, "'is broken off, the
remaining portion becomes charged with resin,' which is deposited by the
resin-bearing sap of the tree, '