We consider the languages of finite trees called tree-shift languages which are factorial extensible tree languages. These languages are sets of factors of subshifts of infinite trees. We give effective syntactic characterizations of two classes of regular tree-shift languages: the finite type tree languages and the tree languages which are almost of finite type. Each class corresponds to a class of subshifts of trees which is invariant by conjugacy. For this goal, we define a tree algebra which is finer than the classical syntactic tree algebra based on contexts. This allows us to capture the notion of constant tree which is essential in the framework of tree-shift languages.

Let κ be a regular cardinal, and let B be a subalgebra of an interval algebra of size κ. The existence of a chain or an antichain of size κ in ℬ is due to M. Rubin (see [7]). We show that if the density of B is countable, then the same conclusion holds without this assumption on κ. Next we also show that this is the best possible result by showing that it is consistent with 2ℵ0 = ℵω1 that there is a boolean algebra B of size ℵω1 such that length(B) = ℵω1 is not attained and the incomparability of B is less than ℵω1. Notice that B is a subalgebra of an interval algebra. For more on chains and antichains in boolean algebras see. e.g., [1] and [2].