I. 1. THE PITCH PINE. 69 



two to three inches long, and each scale terminated in a short, 

 acute, stiff spine. Michaux observed that, on solitary stocks 

 exposed to the winds, the cones are constantly found in groups 

 of four, five or more, and that they then remain closed for sev- 

 eral years. 



The pitch pine is found from the Penobscot River in Maine 

 to the mountains of Carolina. On its northern borders it at- 

 tains a height of only twelve or fifteen feet; on its southern, it is 

 a large tree. The wood of the pitch pine is hard and firm, and 

 remarkable, except in the variety above-mentioned, for the 

 quantity of resin it contains. This is much more abundant in 

 the branches than in the trunk, whence the boards and other 

 lumber of this wood are usually full of pitch knots. When a 

 tree stands some time after its vigorous growth has ceased, the 

 whole heart-wood, and even the whole wood, is filled with resin, 

 and converted into what is called pitch wood. This is so incor- 

 ruptible, that it is often dug up entire in old pine woods, where 

 it has been exposed for scores of years to alternations of moisture 

 and dryness. The proportion of sap-wood to heart- wood varies 

 in different situations. In a tree of fifty years' growth, the ex- 

 terior twenty-five circles may be sometimes found of sap-wood. 



The pitch pine is of far more value than it has usually been 

 considered. The variety called yellow pine * is an excellent 

 substitute for white pine for any purpose to which the latter 

 may be applied. In Plymouth County, vessels have been made, 

 in many instances, for a considerable time past, almost en- 

 tirely of pitch pine. For the upper floor, for the lower deck, 

 and for the beams, the best oak only is superior. Its principal 

 defect, as a material for ship-building, is the comparatively 

 insecure hold it gives to spikes; making it necessary to substi- 

 tute, at certain points, pieces of oak timber. It is an excellent 

 material for floors, not yielding to the Southern pine in dura- 

 bility and surpassing it in beauty. For water-wheels, it is 

 preferred on account of its durability when exposed to alterna- 



* This name is also applied to the Southern yellow pine, Pinus australis, and some- 

 times to the Norway or red pine, Pinus resinosa, with which there is no danger that 

 any variety of pitch pine should be confounded by a botanist. 



