species. P. halepensis, another Mediterranean form, is valued for
its timber, which is white with a fine grain, and resinous products.
P. pinaster, the cluster pine or pinaster, is an important species from its vigorous growth in the sand-drifts of the coast, for the purpose of binding which it has been grown more extensively and successfully than any other tree, especially on the dunes of the Bay of Biscay. Growing to a height of from 40 to 80 ft., the deeply-furrovwed trunk occasionally reaches a diameter of 3 ft. or more at the base, where, like most sand trees, it usually curves upward gradually, a form that enables the long tap-roots to withstand better the strain of the sea gale; when once established, the tree is rarely overthrown even on the loosest sand. The branches curve upuwards like the stem, with their thick covering of long dark green leaves, giving a massive rounded outline to the tree; the ovate cones are from 4 to 6 in. long, of a light shining brown hue, with thick scales terminating in a pyramidal apex; they are arranged around the branches in the radiating clusters that give name to the tree. The pinaster grows naturally on sandy soils around the Mediterranean from Spain to the Levant. On the drift-sands of France, especially in the Gironde, forests have been formed mainly of this pine; the seeds, sown at first under proper shelter and protected by a thick growth of broom sown simu taneously, vegetate rapidly in the sea-sand, and the trees thus raised haue, by their wind-drifted seed, covered much of the former desert of the Landes with an evergreen wood. These forests of pinaster, apart from the production of timber in a once treeless district, haxe a great economic value as a source of turpentine, which is largely obtained from the trees by a process analogous to that employed in its collection from P. sylvestris; the resin is yielded from May to the end of September, the cuts being renewed as the supply fails, until the tree is exhausted; the trunks are then felled and used in the manufacture of charcoal and lamp black; much tar and pitch is also obtained from these pinaster forests. In England the cluster-pine has been largely planted on sandy districts near the sea, and has become naturalized in Purbeck and other wild tracts in the southern counties, but the summer heat is too small to permit of its resinous products acquiring any value; the soft coarse wood, though perishable in the natural state, has been used for railway sleepers after saturation with creosote or preservative solutions.
P. Pinea is the stone pine of Italy; its spreading rounded canopy of light green foliage, supported on a tall and often branchless trunk, forms a striking feature of the landscape in that country, as well as in some other Mediterranean lands. The beautiful reddish-brown shining cones, roundly ovate in shape, with pyramidal scale a ices, have been prized from the ancient days of Rome for their edible nut-like seeds, which are still used as an article of food or dessert. They do not ripen until the fourth year, and are kept in the cone until required, as their abundant oil soon turns rancid The tree has been naturalized in many warm countries, even in China; in England it seldom attains any large size, as the deficient summer heat prevents the wood from maturing; but trees occur occasionally in plantations 20 or 30 ft in height; the wood, though soft and deficient in the resin that gives durability to the timber of some species, is valued by the southern carpenter and cabinetmaker for its lightness, its fineness of grain, and the ease with which it is worked.
P. mitis, the yellow pine of the northern and middle states of America, is rather allied to the three-leaved section, bnt the leaves are mostly in pairs. It is a tree of large size, often attaining a height of 70 ft. and upwards, though rarely more than 2 ft. in diameter at the root; the lower branches spread horizontally, the upper, converging towards the trunk, give the tree somewhat the aspect of a spruce, hence it is called in some districts the “spruce-pine”. The leaves are long, slender, and of a bluish-green hue; the pendant cones are about 112 in. long, with a slender point to each scale The yellow pine is one of the most important timber trees of the genus; the heart-wood being very durable is largely employed in ship-building and for house timber, being nearly equal to that of P. sylvestris; large quantities are exported to Britain under the name of “New York yellow pine”; the sapwood is perishable.
The three-leaved group includes several of the most Valuable trees of America, among them is P. rigida, the pitch pine of the northern states, a tree of from 40 to 50 ft. in height with rugged trunk, occasionally 3 ft. in diameter; the short dark-green leaves are in thick tufts, contrasting with the pale (yellowish, usually clustered cones, the scales of which are furnished with small curved spines. The wood is is very hard and abounds with resin but on swampy land is of inferior quality and of little value except for fuel, for which the pitch-pine is highly prized; on drier ground the grain is fine from the numerous knots. Large quantities of tar and pitch are obtained from this species. The tree is one of the few that will flourish in salt-marshes.
P. palustris (or P. australis) is the “Georgia pitch pine,” or yellow pine of the southern states; it abounds on the sandy soils that cover so much of Georgia, the Carolinas, and Florida, and on those dry lands attains its highest perfection, though occasionally abundant on moist ground, whence its name The most marked feature of the tree is its long tufted foliage-the leaves, of a bright green tint, springing from long white sheaths, being often a foot in length. The tall columnar trunk furnishes the most valued pine timber of the states; close-grained and resinous, it is very durable and polishes well, it is largely employed in American ship ards, and immense quantities are exported, especially to Britain and] the West Indies. This tree yields an abundant supply of tar and turpentine of good quality, which products are collected and manufactured in the “pine-barrens” on a large scale.
P. Taeda, the “loblolly pine” of the backwoodsman, a tall tree with straight trunk and spreading top, covers great tracts of the “pine-barrens” of the southern states, but also frequently spreads over deserted arable lands that have been impoverished by long and bad farming; hence the woodsmen call it the “old-field” pine, while, from the fragrance of its abundant resin, it is also known as the frankincense pine. It is a fine species 80 or 90 ft. high, having sometimes a girth of 6 or 8 ft., with a broad spreading head, the leaves are rather long and of a light green tint, the cones generally in pairs, the scales terminating in a sharp incurved prickle. The timber of this pline is indifferent, but the forests of it are of importance from the quantity of turpentine they yield; the trees also furnish much firewood of good quality.
P. ponderosa, the yellow pine of the Pacific coast of America, belongs to this section; it is a fine timber tree deserving of notice from the extreme density of its wood, which barely floats in water; it abounds in some parts of the western range of the Rocky Mountains, and is the most widely distributed pine tree of the mountain forests of western North America. The leaves are very long and twisted, the small oval cones armed with recurved prickles; the tree is said to be of rapid growth. In Oregon and California several large pines of this group are found. P. Coulteri or macrocarpa, is remarkable for its enormous cones (sometimes a foot long, 6 in. in diameter, and weighing more than 4 ℔); the scales end in long hooked points curving upwards; the leaves are long, rigid, and glaucous in hue. Nearly related to this is P. Sabmzana, the nut-pine of California, the cones of which are 7 to 9 in. long and 5 to 6 in. in diameter, also with hooked scales; the large nut-like seeds are eaten by the Indians; the tree is one of the largest of the section, sometimes attaining a height of 120 ft. and upwards, while trunks have been found, it is said, 10 or 12 ft. in diameter. P longzfolza, a Himalayan species, is remarkable for the great length of its ax slender leaves, of a glass-green tint; the cones have the points of the scales recurved. It is known in India as the “cheer pine”; the wood is good, resinous, and moderately durable; the tree is common on the foot-hills of the Himalayas. P. Gerardiana, a north-west Himalayan species, is a medium-sized tree with a conical head, growing on the more elevated parts of the mountain range; it furnishes edible seeds. The leaves, short and glaucous, like those of the Scotch fir, have deciduous sheaths; the cones have recurved scale-points like those of the cheer pine. P. canariensis, which forms forests on the mountains of Grand Canary and Teneriffe, growing at an elevation of 6000 ft., also belongs to this group. The eaves are long, lax, and of a bright green tint; the cone-scales are without spines; the trunk attains a large size, and yields good and durable timber. The beautiful Monterey pine, P. insignis, distinguished by the brilliant colour of its foliage, has the leaves in tufts of three or four; the lower cone-scales have recurved points. This fine pine has been planted in the south-west of England, but is scarcely hardy.
The pines with five leaves in each tuft have generally deciduous sheaths. The most important economic species is the well-known white pine, P. Strobus, from its large growth and abundance, as well as the soft even grain of its white wood, one of the most valuable of North American timber trees. The tree abounds from Canada to Georgia, but in the eastern states has been so long sought for by the lumberer that most of the old trees have long disappeared, and large white pine timber is now only found in quantity in the Canadian Dominion. Formerly Maine and Vermont were celebrated for the size of their pines, but few of these great trees now exist in New England. On a deep rich soil P. Strobus attains a height of 150 ft., and trunks without a branch are sometimes found 80 or 90 ft. long; in the earlier stages of growth it has a pyramidal form, in open glades the lower boughs often touching the ground, but in old age it acquires a wide almost cedar-like top. The light bluish-green foliage is somewhat lax, very dense in young trees; the cones are long and rather curved, with thin smooth scales a little thickened at the apex, and generally more or less covered with exuding white resin; they are about 5 or 6 in in length and 112 to 2 in. broad; the niale catkins are of a bluish tint; the cones ripen in the autumn of the second year The wood of the white pine is durable for indoor use, especially when protected by paint, but when exposed to moist air it rapidly decays, and it is very liable to dry rot; it is said to be best when grown on sandy soils Immense quantities are still exported, especially from Canada, its smooth easily-worked grain rendering it a favourite wood for the house carpenter and joiner; it weighs about 28 lb per cubic foot In England where it is generally known as the “Weymouth pine,” it succeeds uell on deep light soils when well-drained; trees have attained occasionally a height of 100 ft and upwards in British plantations; but it is apt to be infested with American blight (Eriosoma). In northern Germany it also grows well. The climate of Scotland
