SHORTLEAF PINE 



515 



leaf sapliny had a tap root reaching to a 

 depth of 14 feet.. Only a very few conifer- 

 ous trees have the power to send up vigorous 

 shoots from their stumps when the trees 

 have been felled or the tops have been killed 

 bv fire, but shortleaf pine possesses this 

 \aluable means of re])roducing itself during 

 the earl\- }ears of its life. 



A cross-section of a log of shortleaf pine 

 shows a broad band of nearly white sap- 

 wood surrounding the pale, reddish brown 

 or orange-colored heartwood. The wood is 

 straight-grained and varies considerably in 

 resin content and hardness, but is stifT, 

 strong and moderately heavy. The well- 

 defined rings of annual growth consist 

 of a band of light-colored soft wood 

 surrounded by a darker band of denser, 

 harder and more resinous wood. These 

 bands in the annual ring are known re- 

 spectively as the spring wood and the 

 summer wood. 



Forests composed entirely of shortleaf 

 pine are found, but stands of pure growth 

 usually are of small extent, surrounded by 

 areas of shortleaf mixed with other pines or 

 hardwoods. Pitch pine and scrub pine share 



a considerable por 



RANGE OF SHORTLE.\F PINE 



The heavily shaded portion of the map shows the commercial range of this famous and much-used 

 wood, while the lightly shaded portion mdicates the botanical range. 



out the range of 

 shortleaf on the 

 heavier and more 

 moist soils. Long- 



BARK OF SHORTLEAF PINE 



which prefers low-lying land, it always selects the better 

 tion of its territory drained sites. The vigor of the tree is shown by the 

 in the north, and wide variations in temperature it can endure : it with- 

 loblolly pine grows stands temperatures of 22° F. below zero in Xew York 

 ])ractically through- and New Jersey, and grows equally well in Louisiana, 



where the thermometer may register 112° F, 



Shortleaf grows more rapidly than longleaf pine and 



more slowly than loblolly pine. Studies made by the 



Forest Service in stands of fully stocked second-growth 

 leaf pine and tliree shortleaf pine in North Carolina indicate that this tree in 

 other southern pines 80 years under the best conditions will yield in e.xcess of 

 gr(i\v with it in the 40,000 board feet ( .Scribner rule) per acre. On mediimi 

 South, and in the soils the growth in the same period will approximate 

 .Ai)]5alachian Moun- 33,000 feet, board measure, per acre, and on poor soil in 

 tains it meets white 80 years the yield is only about 24,000 feet. In stands 20 

 pine and table moun- years old the lumber production was found to vary from 

 tain pine. Manv 5700 board feet per acre on good soils to 700 board feet 

 kiiiils of oaks and on poor soils. 



hickories are fre- Shortleaf pine in the forest may live to be 400 vears 



quent companions of age, but its a\erage life is not more than 200 to 

 of the shortleaf pine, 300 years. To produce a mature stand of saw timber 

 together with less from shortleaf pine requires 80 to 100 years, depending on 

 important broad-leaf the quality of the soil. For tie production or cordwood 

 trees such as per- the maximum growth occurs between the ages of.60 and 



80 years. With proper thinning the rate of growth is 



considerably hastened. 



The first thinning in well-stocked shortleaf pine forests 



should be made when the trees are 20 or 30 years old. 



Under average conditions, about one-third of the trees 

 ing from sand and should be cut out in this early thinning: older stands 

 graxcl to stiff clays, should be treated less severely. Small, weak trees, strug- 

 L'nlike loblolh- pine, gling hopelesslv below the tops of the majority of trees. 



simmon, sassafras 

 and dogwood. 



Shortleaf pine 

 grows well on many 

 kinds of soils, rang- 



