Teachers' Leaflet. 



571 



The pitch pine. 



LESSON XXXIL 



A PINE TREE. 



Purpose. — To make the pupils 

 familiar with the appearance of a 

 pine tree, so as to be able to dis- 

 tinguish it at once from other ever- 

 green trees. 

 Observations. — 1 

 Compared with other trees 

 what is the general shap of the 

 pine? 



2. Is there one central stem 

 running from rot to top? 



3. Does this central sten 

 divide in two or three toward tht 

 top? If so why? 



4. What is the color and 

 character of the bark? 



5. Do the branches extend at 

 right angles to the tree or do they 

 point upward, like the branches of a maple? 



6. What is the color of the foliage and where is it borne on the 

 limbs ? 



7. What is it makes the pine look different from the Norway spruce 

 or hemlock? 



8. Where is the resin found and of what use is this to the tree ? 



Facts for. teacher. — All the cone-bearing trees have typically a central stem 

 extending straight from the base to the " tip top " of the tree, the growing tip of 

 which is called the leader. This central, straight stem gives it a peculiar appear- 

 ance, quite different from that of the oak or the maple whose trunks divide into 

 many branches. Sometimes pines will be found where this central stem divides 

 into two or three near the top. This shape is abnormal, and was caused by an 

 injury to the leader, made by a beetle whose larva bores into this top shoot; for 

 when the leader is killed usually its place is taken by one of the branches in the 

 whorl at its base ; however, sometimes two or even three branches of this whorl 

 become ambitious to take the place of the lost leader with the result tliat, for the 

 rest of its life, the tree has two or three stems instead of the one which is 

 natural. The color of the pine foliage differs with different species ; that of the 

 white pine is very dark green and that of the pitch pine is yellowish green. The 

 foliage is borne above the branches, and this gives the pine tree a very different 

 appearance from that of the Norway spruce or hemlock. The lower branches of 

 the pines are likely to extend out almost at right angles to the tree. The bark 

 of the different species differs in color and in the shape of the sutures, and should 

 be compared. Resin is not the sap of the pine tree, as so many seem to think ; 

 the sap of the pine is like the sap of any other tree in its fluid consistency. Resin 

 is the product of certain glands of the tree, and its chief assistance is in closing 

 wounds securely and thus keeping out the spores of fungi. The pupils should 



