390 



AMERICAN FORESTRY 



to spread their ever-widening crowns, and many die in 

 the battle. But those that survive are the finest and best 

 specimens of their kind, and this is nature's way of 

 developing the straight, clean stems that produce the 

 even-grained, knotless lumber that has given white pine 

 fame throughout the civilized world. 



The wood of White pine is resinous, light in weight, 

 compact, straight-grained and even of texture, soft and 

 easily worked, but only moderately strong. It does not 

 warp, shrink or check, and has been used for practically 

 every purpose for which wood is adapted. Large trees 

 have a thin ring of sapwood. When first cut there is 

 little difference in color between heart and sap, but the 

 crvstal-clear drops of resin that ooze from the sapwood 

 a- soon as it is cut plainly distinguish it from heartwood. 

 After being exposed to the air the heartwood changes to 

 ig-ht reddish-brown color. The great usefulness of 



On old trees the bark is thick, dark, gray and divided by long and 

 shallow fissures into broad longitudinal ridges; on young trees it 

 is thin, smooth and greenish-brown, later growing scaly and darker. 



It is not unlikely that some of the white pines still 

 standing in our forest were saplings when Columbus dis- 

 covered America. There is a record of a tree in Penn- 

 sylvania, 42 inches in diameter at 4J/^ feet above the 

 ground, with a total height of 155 feet, that was 351 

 years old and scaled 3.335 feet. Several fair sized areas 

 of virgin White pine forest are still to be found in War- 

 ren and Forest Counties. Pennsylvania. Those who ad- 

 mire the White pine will find it well worth while to make 

 a pilgrimage to these tracts just for the pleasure of 

 standing on the soft brown carpet of resin-scented pine 

 tags and listening to the sound of the sea as the wind 

 sways the tops of "the mtirmuring pines and tlie hem- 

 locks," nearly 200 feet above ground. 



ii\' 



INTERIOR VIEW OF PLANTATION 



Showing the regularity of jilanting and growth in trees which are now 

 fifty-five years old. It is estimated that the net profit of this 

 white pine if cut now would be at the rate of $140.25 an acre. 



\\'hite pine is due largelv to the ease with which the 

 woodworker can fit it to his requirements, its almost com- 

 plete freedom from shrinking or swelling, its strength in 

 proportion to its weight, and its durability when exposed 

 to the weather. It is not especially durable in contact 

 with the soil. 



