Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume XIII.djvu/541

 PINE 525 caused it to be called in some localities spruce pine ; the slender leaves from long sheaths, 3 to 5 in. long, sometimes occur in threes, con- necting this section with the preceding; the ovate cones are barely 2 in. long, the scales with a minute prickle; the wood is fine- grained, and, when deprived of the readily per- ishable sap wood, remarkably durable; it is used for ships' masts and spars, and for floor- ing, and is in demand for various purposes at home and abroad ; that grown upon poor soil is more durable than that grown on a more fertile one. The fine shape of this tree, and the peculiar bluish green of its foliage, make it one of the most ornamental of our native pines. The red pine (P. resinosa) is found from Canada to Pennsylvania in dry local- ities ; in New England it is often incorrectly called Norway pine, a name which belongs to a European spruce. The tree seldom forms forests, but is scattered among other species, and in favorable localities reaches 80 ft., with a trunk of very uniform diameter; the bark, much less rough than that of the pitch pine, is red ; the leaves, 5 to 6 in. long, are of a rich dark green and much crowded at the ends of the branches, giving the tree a distinct charac- ter, unlike that of any other northern species ; the cones, about 2 in. long, are ovate, ter- minal, and fall after shedding the seed, the scales without any prickles ; the wood is less resinous than that of the pitch pine, and is in strength and durability intermediate between that and white pine. The young trees are es- pecially handsome and worthy of a place in large plantations. The Jersey or scrub pine (P. mops) occurs in poor sandy soil from New Jersey westward and southward, rarely growing more than 30 or 40 ft. high, and is of a straggling habit ; the old bark is dark and rough, while that on the young branches is covered with a purplish or violet bloom; the leaves 2 to 3 in. long ; cones 2 to 3 in. long, oblong conical, the scales tipped with a recurved or straight, awl-shaped, rigid prickle ; the tree is of little value. The gray or northern scrub pine (P. Banlcsiand} is found along our northern border, and extends further north- ward than any other of our pines, growing within the arctic circle ; it sometimes reaches 20 or 30 ft., but is usually much lower, fre- quently straggling over the ground and only 3 to 5 ft. high ; its leaves are an inch long, gray- ish green, and the usually curved cones not over 2 in. long ; the wood, said to be very light and tough, is used by the Indians in constructing canoes. The spruce pine (P. glabrd) is a little known and very local species in South Carolina and Florida ; it is 40 to 60 ft. high, with leaves 3 to 4 in. long, and cones about 2 in. long ; it branches from the ground, and has a smoothish bark and a soft white wood. The only remain- ing eastern species is the Table mountain pine (P. pungens), which is restricted to the moun- tains of North Carolina, Virginia, and a few localities in Pennsylvania ; it grows 40 to 50 ft. 664 VOL. xin. 34 high; the leaves, which are stout, are about 2-J- in. long, of a bluish color ; the ovate cones 3 in. long, the scales with a very strong hooked spine. This is distinguished from all other pines by the length of time the cones remain upon the tree ; they may often be found at- tached to branches of 20 years' growth. The species has no especial value. -The pines of the Rocky mountains and westward to the Pacific are more numerous than in the eastern region, and, especially those accredited to Mexico, are in much botanical confusion, from which the monograph on the genus in preparation by Dr. Engelmann is expected to extricate them. Only the more important species are enumerated, and these are grouped, like the others, accord- ing to their leaves. Among the species with quinate leaves, or five in a cluster, the awn- coned pine (P. aristata) is noticeable for its truly alpine character, it being found on the higher peaks of the Rocky mountains, never at less than 9,000 ft. altitude ; it occurs as a strag- gling bush, or as a tree of 40 or 50 ft., accord- ing to situation ; its leaves are from 1 to H in- long, and remarkably persistent, remaining on the tree in some cases for 16 years ; the oval cones, about 2^- in. long, have each scale terminated by a slender, incurved point ; the tree is of very slow growth and long life, a branch about an inch in di- ameter showing 50 annual rings, and the wood of the larger trees shows an age of about 500 to 800 years. The Ameri- can Cembran pine (P. flexilis), so called be- cause it is the repre- sentative in this coun- try of the Cembran pine of the old world, is also an inhabitant of the alpine regions of the Rocky moun- tains at from 7,000 to 11,000 ft. ; it has much the appearance of the eastern white pine, with white, hard, slowly grown wood; it rarely grows over 50 ft. high ; has cones 4 or 5 in. long with edible seeds. The sugar pine (P. Lambertiana) is found from the Mexican bor- der, along the mountains, to the Columbia river; this is one of the grand trees of the Pacific region, in groves growing 200 ft. high Cone of Supar Pine (Pinua Lambertiana).