During the 17th and 18th centuries, tall white pines in British North America became known as "mast pines". Marked by agents of the Crown with the broad arrow, a mast pine was reserved for sail masts for the British Royal Navy. Special vessels were built to ship tall white pines to England. The name "Adirondack", an Iroquois word that means "tree-eater", referred to their neighbors (more commonly known as the Algonquians) who collected the inner bark of white pines during times of winter starvation. The white, soft inner bark was separated from the hard, dark brown bark and dried. This product can be used as flour or added to stretch other starchy products. Eastern white pine needles exceed the amount of vitamin C in lemons and oranges and can be used in herbal tea. “Like great harps on which the wind makes music. There is no finer tree.” — Naturalist Henry David Thoreau wrote about the white pine in his Journal, on September 16, 1857.