Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 19.djvu/115

Rh PINE 105 reddish-brown shining cones, roundly ovate in shape, with pyrami dal scale apices, 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 fest 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, but the leaves are mostly in pairs. It is a tree of large size, often attaining a height of 70 feet and upwards, though rarely more than 2 feet 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 &quot; spruce- pine.&quot; The leaves are long, slender, and of a bluish-green hue ; the pendant cones are about 1^ inches 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 shipbuilding and for house timber, being nearly equal to that of P. sylvestris ; large quantities are exported to Britain under the name of &quot;New York yellow pine&quot;; the sapwood is perishable. The three-leaved group includes several of the most valuable trees of America; among them is P. ricjida, the Pitch-Pine of the northern States, a tree of from 40 to 50 feet in height with rugged trunk, occasionally 3 feet 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 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. australis is the &quot;Georgia Pitch-Pine,&quot; 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 it is sometimes called P. imlustris. 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 arid resinous, it is very durable and polishes well ; it is largely employed in American shipyards, and immense quantities are exported, especially to Britain and the West India Islands. This tree yields an abundant supply of tar and turpentine of good quality, which products are collected and manufactured in the &quot;pine- barrens on a large scale. P. Twin, the &quot; Loblolly Pine&quot; of the backwoodsman, a tall tree with straight trunk and spreading top, covers great tracts of the &quot; pine-barrens &quot; 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 &quot;old-field&quot; 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 feet high, having sometimes a girth of 6 or 8 feet, 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 pine is indifferent, but the forests of it are of import ance from the quantity of turpentine they yield ; the trees also furnish much firewood of good quality. P. ponderosa, a pine of western America belonging to this section, 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. 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 macrocarj)a, is remarkable for its enormous cones (sometimes a foot long, 6 inches in diameter, and weighing more than 4 lt&amp;gt;); the scales end in long hooked points curving upwards ; the leaves are long, rigid, and glaucous in hue. Nearly related to this is P. Sabiniana, the Nut- Pine of California, the cones of which are of nearly equal size, 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 feet and upwards, while trunks have been found, it is said, 10 or 12 feet in diameter. P. longifolia, a Nepal species, is remarkable for the great length of its lax slender leaves, of a grass-green tint ; the cones have the points of the scales recurved. It is known in India as the &quot; Cheer- Pine&quot;; the wood is good, resinous, and moderately durable ; the tree is common on the foot-hills of the Himalayas. P. Gerardiaua, another Nepal species, is a large tree with a conical head, growing on the more elevated parts of the mountain range; itfurnish.es 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 feet, also belongs to this group. The leaves 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, dis tinguished 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-western parts 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 AVhite Pine, P. Strains, from its large growth and abundance, as well as the soft even grain of its white wood, one of the most valuable of American trees. The tree abounds from Canada to Georgia, and is also found in British Columbia, 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 ; one that stood near the banks of the Merrimack in New Hampshire is said to have had a trunk nearly 8 feet in diameter, and Michaux measured a stump 6 feet across. On a deep rich soil P. S/robus attains a height of 150 or even 200 feet, and trunks without a branch are sometimes found 80 or 90 feet 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 gener ally more or less covered with exuding white resin ; they are about 5 or 6 inches in length and li to 2 inches broad; the male 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 tt per cubic foot. In England, where it is generally known as the &quot; Weymouth Pine,&quot; it succeeds well on deep light soils when well-drained ; trees have attained occasionally a height of 100 feet and upwards in British plantations ; but it is apt to be infested with American blight (Eriosoma). In northern Germany it also grows well ; a tree at Berlin measured upwards of 3 metres in circumference, the age being one hundred and fifty years. The climate of Scotland appears less suitable for it, probably from the want of summer heat, and it can hardly be recommended for British planting otherwise than for ornamental purposes. Nearly approaching this is P. excelsa, the Bhotan Pine, which differs chiefly in its longer cones and drooping glaucous foliage. It is found in Kumaon and Bhotan and on some of the Nepal ranges, but does not grow in the moist climate of the Sikkim Himalayas ; it is found at a height of 6000 to 7000 feet, and attains large dimen sions ; the wood is highly resinous, and is said to be durable ; great quantities of a white clear turpentine exude from the branches when injured. The Bhotan pine is quite hardy in southern England, and has been largely planted of late as an ornamental tree. P. Lambertiana, the Giant Pine or Sugar-Pine of California, is the largest of the genus, rising to the height of 200 feet, with a trunk 20 to 30 feet in girth, and, it is said, occasionally attaining much larger dimensions. The head is of a pyramidal form, the lower branches drooping like those of a Norway spruce ; its foliage is of a light bright green colour. The pendent cones are very large, sometimes 18 inches long and 4 inches in diameter, with large nut - like seeds, which, pounded and baked, are eaten by the Indians. The tree abounds in some sandy districts, but more generally occurs singly or in small groups dispersed through the woods, attaining its greatest dimensions in light soils. The wood is soft and nearly white, but contains much resin, which when fire has run through the forest exudes, and, having in this half-burnt condition a sweetish taste, has given the common name to the tree; the wood seems to be formed slowly ; from its smooth grain it is valued for indoor carpentry; the saccharine burnt resin is used as a laxative in California. P. Ccmbra is the Stone-Pine of Siberia and central Europe. It abounds on the Alps, the Carpathians, and the Siberian ranges, in Switzerland being found at an altitude of G8&amp;lt;)0 feet in some localities. It is a straight-growing tree, with grey bark and whorls of horizontal branches, growing often from the ground, giving a XIX. 14