Page:Ornithological biography, or an account of the habits of the birds of the United States of America, vol 2.djvu/598

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562
COMMON CROSSBILL.


Young Male fully fledged. Plate CXCVII. Fig. 3.

In its second plumage the young male is of a duU green colour mixed with brown above, greyish-yellow, tinged with green beneath, the sides of the head over the eyes greenish-yellow, and the rump and upper tail- coverts of the same colour.

Adult Female. Plate CXCVII. Fig. 4, 4.

The upper parts are greyish-brown, tinged with green, the rump dull greyish-yellow ; the sides of the head and neck of the same colour as the back ; the under parts pale greyish-yellow, brighter on the fore part of the breast.

Young Female fully fledged. Plate CXCVII. Fig. 5.

The young female resembles the old one, but has less yellow on the rump and under parts.

I have carefully compared skins of the American bird with others of that found in Scotland, but have not succeeded in detecting any difie- rences sufficient to indicate a specific distinction.

The Hemlock Spruce.

PiNUS CANADENSIS, Mich. Arbor. Forest, vol. L p. 137. pi- 13. Pursh. Fl. Amer. Sept. vol. ii. p. 640 — Moncecia Monadelphia, Linn. ConifehjE, Jtiss.

The Hemlock or Canadian Spruce is characterised by its solitary, flat, somewhat distichous leaves, and very small ovate terminal cones. It is one of the most majestic and beautiful trees of the forests of the Middle States, where it grows abundantly in certain parts, such as the Great Pine Forest, the Pocano Mountains, &c., extending from Carolina to the extremity of Maine. The wood is not considered equal to that of the true pines, and unless kept dry very soon decays, but the bark is excellent for tannii^. The height sometimes reaches a hundred feet, and the diameter near the base is often six feet or more.