150 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



mountains, where its appearance and habit gradually change 

 into the lodgepole form. This so-called species, however, is 

 generally looked on as but a form of lodgepole, and is of little 

 value except for firewood. 



Eastern Jack pine (Pinus banksiana) is one of the small 

 commercial pines. As a timber tree it is not so valuable as 

 white pine or red pine, but owing to its wide distribution, it is 

 being more extensively lumbered each year, owing to the 

 disappearance of the more valuable pines through logging, and 

 the remoteness of existing stands from transportation facilities. 



Botanical Characteristics. — The leaves are in two's, § to 1^ inch 

 long, stout, oblique, diverted, and in remote clusters, falling in 

 the third or fourth year. The fruit is i| to 2 inches long, lateral, 

 oblong-conical, ' oblique at the base, sessile, usually strongly 

 incurved like a beak ; scales thin and stiff and armed with a 

 small rudimentary prickle ; cones opening irregularly, and 

 persisting 10 to 15 years, often becoming woody. The tree fruits 

 early, from the fifth to tenth year, in close stands 10 to 15 years 

 later, but the best seed production is between 35 to 75 years. 

 It has been found that a normal tree 10 to 15 inches in diameter 

 will produce annually 200 to 500 cones, each cone bearing 

 15 to 30 seeds. In dry years a few of the cones open on the 

 tree, but it usually takes fire to open them. The germination 

 percentage is from 60 to 70%, and the seeds are viable for many 

 years. Growth is very slow during the first ten years, but after 

 the root-system is established, the tree grows from 1 to 2 feet 

 annually. This growth continues under favourable conditions 

 till about the fiftieth year. 



In dense forests the crown is narrow, open, and confined to 

 the upper part of the tree. In open stands the stem is clad 

 almost to the ground with long spreading branches, covered 

 with cones their entire length, giving the tree a somewhat 

 curious appearance. The bark is thin, scaly, dark brown, and 

 the percentage of bark as compared to that of the total 

 volume varies but little. The average of 100 trees was found 

 to be 11%. 



The tap-root is deep, with strong spreading laterals, rendering 

 it wind-firm. The tree will grow on poor shallow soils, but 

 reaches its best development on deep sandy plains where the 

 roots can go deep and have room to spread. In such soils it 

 attains a height of from 60 to 90 feet, with a diameter of from 



