I. THE PINES. 57 



The pines are most readily propagated by seed. In and near 

 the pine forests, they are sown naturally by the opening of the 

 cones when mature, and the dispersion of the winged seeds by 

 the wind. As the seeds of most species are very light, they are 

 often carried to a considerable distance, and their abundance is 

 such, that a single tree is sufficient to furnish seed for many 

 acres. A few pines scattered through a forest of deciduous 

 trees, fill the ground with seed, in a series of years, so com- 

 pletely, that when the forest is cut down, it not unfrequently 

 happens that a pine forest springs up in its place. 



If the trees are to be propagated artificially, the seed must be 

 deposited on or near the surface ; it should not be buried be- 

 neath, or, in case this is absolutely necessary, as when they 

 are sown in open fields, the covering should not exceed an 

 eighth of an inch, and should be light and loose. A soil and 

 surface formed by the decay of the leaves of deciduous trees, is 

 best, as it is precisely that in which the seed naturally vegetates. 

 There are now, in every part of Massachusetts, large tracts of 

 land which are too sterile, or too rough and rocky, to be culti- 

 vated to advantage, which might be easily sown with the dif- 

 ferent species of pine adapted to the various soils. The pitch 

 pine would cover the sands, the red cedar and larch the rocky 

 hills, the white cedar the swamps, and the hemlock and spruce 

 and white pine all the regions between. Such tracts are usually 

 overrun with low bushes, amongst which the seeds might be 

 cast, and which would afford protection to the young plants 

 against the winds, and the heat of the sun. 



All the pines require to be cultivated in large masses. They 

 naturally grow thus, and although, when so growing, they seem 

 to be extremely hardy, they do not thrive when solitary, but 

 are parched by the sun, and stunted by the cold and wind. In 

 masses, especially when large enough to cover several acres, 

 they not only protect each other, but are the best possible nurses 

 for the tender deciduous trees. For this purpose, they are ex- 

 tensively employed in all young plantations in England and 

 France, where the cultivation of forest trees has received the 

 greatest attention. 



The cones, which are mature after one, two, or three seasons, 

 9 



