flourishes, and the timber is always indifferent; it is usually
said that the wood is best in the cold climate of its more northern
habitats, but a trunk (4 ft. in diameter) grown on the sands of
Surrey had heart-wcod quite equal to any produced in Glenmore
or Rothiemurchus. The rapidity of growth is still more variable:
in Britain full maturity is attained in from seventy to one
hundred and twenty years, but in Norway the trunk increases
much more slowly; Schubeler states that a tree felled in the
Alten district (about 70° lat.), measuring 2 ft. 10 in. in diameter
without the bark, showed four hundred circles of annual growth.
In Norway the tree, growing in dense forests, is generally of but
moderate girth, and probably this pine nowhere reaches a greater
size than in the Scottish woods; a plank from Glenmore forest
measured nearly 512 ft. across, and from 3 to 412 ft. is not an
unusual diameter for a British pine tree.
Vast numbers of Scotch firs are raised in nurseries for artificial planting; the seed is sown in the spring, being just covered with earth, and the seedlings transplanted in the second year into rows for further culture, or taken direct from the seed-bed for final planting; sometimes the seed is sown where the trees are intended to grow. A plantation of Scotch fir requires frequent and careful thinning as the young trees increase in size; but pruning should be avoided as much as possible, excepting for the removal of dead wood. Plantations in England are generally ready for final cutting in from sixty to seventy years, and many are cleared at a much earlier stage of growth. P. sylvestris in Britain is liable to many insect depredations: the pine-chafer, Hylurgus piniperda, is destructive in some places, the larva of this beetle feeding on the young succulent shoots, especially in young plantations; Hylobius abietis, the fir-weevil, eats away the bark, and numerous lepidopterous larvae devour the leaves, the pine-san fly is also injurious in some seasons; the removal of all dead branches from the trees and from the ground beneath them is recommended, as most of these insects lay their eggs among the decaying bark and dead leaves. In common with other pines, P. sylvestris is subject to the attacks of various fungi Trametes radiciperda attacks the roots and penetrates to the stem, causing rotting of the wood; the disease is difficult to eradicate, as the mycelium of the fungus travels from root to root in the soil. Rotting of the wood at the base of the trunk is also caused by Agaricus melleus, which spreads from root to root in the soil by means of its long purple-black, cord-like mycelial strands known as Rhizomorpha. Much damage is often caused by species of Peridermium, which often invade the cortex and cambium to such an extent as to “ring” the stem or branch, or to cause an abnormal formation of turpentine which soaks into the wood and stops the upward passage of water; this causes the parts above the diseased area to perish. In England the pine is largely employed as a “nurse” for oak trees, its conical growth when young admirably adapting it for this purpose, its dense foliage renders it valuable as a shelter tree for protecting land from the wind, it stands the sea gales better than most conifers, but will not flourish on the shore like some other species.
The pine is an important tree in the economy of the northern nations of Europe. In Scandinavia and Russia houses are chiefly constructed of its timber, and log-huts are made of the smaller trunks and lined and roofed with the bark. The inner bark is twisted into ropes, and, like that of the spruce, is kiln dried, ground up, and mixed with meal in times of scarcity, in Kamchatka it is macerated in water, then pounded, and made into a kind of substitute for bread without any admixture of flour. In recent days the fibre of the leaves has been extracted in some quantity and applied to textile purposes under the name of waldwolle, both in Germany and Sweden. It is prepared by boiling the needles in a solution of soda to remove the resin, which process loosens the fibre and renders its separation easy, it has some resemblance to coarse wool, and is spun and woven into blankets and garments that are said to be warm and durable; it is also used for stuffing cushions, an essential oil, obtained by a previous distillation of the leaves, has medicinal virtues attributed to it by some German practitioners. Large quantities of turpentine are extracted from this pine in Sweden and Russia by removing a strip of bark, terminating below in a deep notch cut in the wood, into which the turpentine runs, and from which it is scooped as it accumulates, but the product is not equal to that of the silver fir and other species. Tar is prepared largely from P. sylvestris; it is chiefly obtained from the roots, which, mingled with a few logs, are arranged in a conical or funnel-shaped hollow made on the steep side of a hill or bank; after filling up, the whole is covered with turf and fired at the top, when the tar exudes slowly and runs into an iron vessel placed below, from the spout of which it is conveyed into barrels. Most of the so-called Stockholm tar is thus prepared, chiefly in the province of Bothnia.
Closely allied to the Scotch pine, and perhaps to be regarded as a mere alpine form of that species, is the dwarf P. montana (or P. Pumilio), the “krummholz” or “knieholz” of the Germans—a recumbent bush, generally only a few feet high, but with long zigzag stems, that root occasionally at the knee-like bends where they rest upon the ground. The foliage much resembles that of the Scotch fir, but is shorter, denser and more rigid, the cones are smaller but similar in form. Abounding on the higher slopes of the Bavarian and Tirolese Alps, it is a favourite shelter for the chamois; the hunters call it the “latschen,” from its recumbent straggling habit. Krummholz oil, valued in Germany as an outward application in rheumatism and for bruises and sprains, is distilled from the young branches, and a fragrant white resin that exudes in some quantity from the buds is used for s1m1lar purposes and as a perfume, un er the name of Hungarian balsam it is sold in the towns of Germany, being probably obtained from the Carpathians.
The red pine of Canada and New England (so called from the colour of its bark), P. resinosa, is a tree of considerable size, sometimes attaining the dimensions of P. sylvestris. The somewhat glaucous leaves form dense tufts at the ends of the branches, and are 4 or 5 in. long; the ovate blunt cones are about half that length. The tree is of quick growth and the wood strong and resinous, but it is less durable than Scotch hr, though much employed in ship-building; according to Emerson, trunks exist in Maine 4 ft. in diameter. A sandy soil seems to suit it best, and the quality of the wood probably much depends on its place of growth. Red pines abound in Nova Scotia and Newfoundland, and the tree is rather widely distributed over the northern parts of the continent; it rarely forms extensive woods, but grows chiefly in clumps among other trees, at least in its more southern habitats. Nearly allied is P. Banksiana, the grey or Labrador pine, sometimes called the scrub pine from its dwarfish habit; it is the most northerly representative of the genus in America, and is chiefly remarkable for its much recurved and twisted cones, about 2 in. long. The trunks are too small to be of great economic value, but the light wood is used by the natives for their canoes.
P. Laricio, the Corsican pine, is one of the noblest trees of this group, growing to a height of 100 or even 150 ft., with a straight trunk and branches in regular whorls, forming in large trees a pyramidal head; the slender leaves, of a dark green tint, are from 4 to 7 in. long; the cones, either in pairs or several together, project horizontally, and are of a light brown colour. This pine abounds In Corsica, and is found in more or less abundance in Spain, southern France, Greece, and many Mediterranean countries; it occurs on the higher mountains of Cyprus. The tree is of very rapid growth, but produces good timber. much used in southern dockyards, and very durable, though less strong than that of P. sylvestris; the heart-wood is of a brownish-tint. In southern France It has been planted with success on the drift-sands of the Bay of Biscay, though It does not bear the full force of the sea-blast as well as the pinaster. In England it grows well in sheltered situations and well-drained soils.
The black pine, P. austriaca, generally now regarded as a variety of P. Laricio, derives its name from the extreme depth of its foliage tints—the sharp, rigid, rather long leaves of a dark green hue giving a sombre aspect to the tree. The light-coloured, glossy, horizontal cones are generally in pairs, but sometimes three or four together. The tree is conical when young, but when old forms a spreading head; it often attains a large size. Southern Austria and the adjacent countries are the natural habitats of this pine; it seems to flourish best on rocky mountain sides, but in England grows well on sandy soils. The timber is valued in its native country, and is said to be durable and to stand exposure to the weather well; various resinous products are extracted from it. P. pyrenaica is a handsome species of pyramidal form, attaining a large size on the mountains of northern Spain, whence it extends through the Mediterranean region to Asia Minor, northern Persia and Afghanistan. The leaves are long and of a light bright green; the cones are solitary, oblong, conical and of a yellow tint. The timber is used in Spanish dockyards, but opinions vary as to its quality. In plantations its bright foliage, with the orange cones and young shoots, render it an ornamental tree, hardy in southern Britain. P. brutia, the Calabrian pine, is regarded as the same
