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four or five years ; rather large, persistent, brown scales about tlie 

 bases of the leaves; and short, thick, ovoid cones, 2 to 3 inches 

 long, which do not open and liberate the seeds when ripe as is 

 the case with other fiveJeaved pines. The cones usually fall 

 intact, and the seeds are liberated by the rotting of the scales or 

 by birds or animals in search of food. 



In Central Europe it is usually met with at altitudes of 5000- 

 TOOO feet, and in various parts of Switzerland it is used up to 

 8000 feet for protective works, whore the cold and exposure is 

 too severe for common spruce and Scots pine. Under favourable 

 conditions it attains a height of 70-80 feet, with a trunk diameter 

 of l|-2 feet. Isolated trees may sometimes be much larger in 

 girth, and Elwes and Henry, I.e. pp. 1037-8, refer to a tree grow- 

 ing at Muotta da Celerina near Pontresina at an elevation of 

 2120 metres which measures 15 to 16 metres in height with a 

 girth of 4-20 metres, and another tree growing behind the Fin- 

 delen Hotel on the Eiffel Alp is recorded as being 25 feet in girth. 

 The last example has been estimated to be between 1000 and 1100 

 years old. The species is conspicuous on the Swiss Alps between 

 St. Moritz and Pontresina. When growing in close woods 

 a considerable portion of bare trunk is found, but whenever 

 the trees are but moderately dense side branches occur quite 

 low on the trunks. The timber is often very knotty, the knots 

 measuring 1-2 inches in diameter, but it has a good reputa- 

 tion for strength, and the better qualities are in demand 

 for structural Avork. Very knotty wood is sometimes cut into 

 boards and used for panelling rooms, either quite plain or var- 

 nished, whilst clean wood is valuable for carving. In Eastern 

 Russia and Siberia it grows 120-130 feet high with a clear trunk 

 of GO-80 feet, and tlie timber is said to be less knotty than that 

 grown in Switzerland. There is an export business in this 

 timber from some of the North Russian ports. In both Siberia 

 and Switzerland the seeds are used for food. 



Although P.> Cemhra was introduced to the British Isles in 

 1746 really fine examples are uncommon, very few specimens 

 being on record which have attained a height of 70 feet or more. 

 As a young tree it is much used for ornamental planting, but it 

 does not give entire satisfaction in the south and rarely bears 

 cones freely. In Scotland it cones regularly, but even there it 

 does not appear to have a commercial future. Experimental 

 plantings have been made here and there, notably at Balmoral, 

 but so far the results do not appear to warrant extensive planta- 

 tions. It is possible that throughout the British Isles it misses 

 the decided winter's rest that it gets in a state of nature. 



Planks from ornamental trees grown in this country show the 

 knotty character which is often such a pronounced feature of 

 Swiss wood. A thoroughly dry specimen of the wood in Museum 

 No. TV., grown in Lincolnshire, weighs 27 lb. to the cubic foot. 



T 



P. halepensis, Miller.— K\o^]^o Pine, Jenisnlem Piue, Pin 

 Blanc, Pin d'Alep, Pin de Jerusalem. 



This species was introduced to the British Isles by Bishop 

 Compton in 1683, but owing to the climate it has not become a 



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