Turning LinkedList into a Generic Class

public class LinkedList<E>
{
   . . .
   public E removeFirst()
   {
      if (first == null)
         throw new NoSuchElementException();
      E element = first.data;
      first = first.next;
      return element;
   }
   . . .
   private Node first;

   private class Node
   {
      public E data;
      public Node next;
   }
}