BOTANICAL DESCRIPTION OF LOBLOLLY PINE. 113 



of tbis pine does not flow freely and hardens so rapidly on exposure that it can not be profitably 

 worked. An experienced o])eiittor at the i)laoe con firmed thi.« to be the exi)eriiMice everywhere 

 with this kind of pine. The statements ref;;u(liiig' tlie use of tids tree for its resinous jjroduct can 

 therefore only be explained by a confusion of names applied to the different piiie.s, and it was 

 most likely the (Juban Pine to which the operators referred. 



In a report lately ]iublislu'd by the State geoloj^ist of North Carolina the remark is made: " It 

 is said that the crude turpentine of the Loblolly IMne has so much water in it tliat it yields only 

 a poor spirits of turpentine."' This, to be sure, is a misconception; but the statement confirms 

 the fact that this species is not tapped for its resin, which had also been observed bj' tiie writer a 

 short time previously in the Loblolly Pine forests of North Carolina as well as South Carolina and 

 Georgia. 



Froman extensive series of analyses of the resin of fresh specimens of both Longleaf and Loblolly 

 Pine collected in Georgia and South Carolina, it appears tliat the wood of Loblolly contains but 

 little less resin than that of Longleaf; that the distribution of resin in the log is practically the 

 same, and, what seems most remarkable, that the composition of the resin, as far as the relation 

 of spirits of turpentine and rosin is concerned, is nearly the same (being <|nite variable in both), so 

 that the absence of free " bleeding " or abundant resin exudation can not be due to a lack of liquid 

 oil, but must be caused by other physiological peculiarities. 



NOMENCLATURE AND CLASSIFICATION. 



The Loblolly and half a dozen other species, mostly Pacific and Mexican,^ form a natural group 

 of timber trees included in Englemann's Eutada; which might fitly be designated as the group 

 "torch pines," and can be characterized as embracing trees, mostly of larger size, with more or 

 less resinous, coarse grained wood, long leaves by threes in a fascicle, and witli lateral cones pro- 

 vided with thick, woody scales bearing a stout, sharp i>rickle. The distinctive characters of this 

 species have been early recognized by Pluckenet, one of the earliest writers on American plants'" 

 and Linuipus described the tree under the name of Finns twda* which was adopted subsequently 

 by all botanists. The name given to this pine by Linnanis in 175.3 has- never been changed. In 

 17S9 Aitan established a variety, P. Tada var. temtifol'm (Hort. Kew., Ill, 3G8), which, however, 

 has not received recognition. 



BOTANICAL DESCRIPTION AND MORPHOLOGY. 



Leaves three in the close, clougateil sheath, 6 to 9 inches long, slender, stiff, rigidly pointed, channeled, and 

 strongly keeled on the upper side, of a pale green color; couos nearly sessile, single, in twos or threes, ronndish-ovato 

 or ovate-oblong, aliont 3 inches long, with the scales hard and woody, the pyramidal aiiophysis with a strong, 

 recurved prickle; seeds small, their wing an inch or over long. 



This Species is easily distinguished from its most frequent associates — the Longleaf and Short- 

 leaf Pine — by its slightly glaucous foliage at all seasons, and by its more slender and almost 

 smooth terminal buds; from the former and from the latter by the more robust shoots and buds; 

 and from both the species named, and also from the Cuban Pine, by its characteristic cones. 



ROOT, STEM, AND BRANCH SYSTEM. 



The stout taproot of this pine is assisted by powerful laterals which divide into numerous 

 branches and descend into the soil, usually at a short distance from the trunk ; but where a hard, 

 compact subsoil is encountered they are often seen to run for a greater or less distance near the 

 surface. In the localities most favorable to its growth, the massive trunk of the Loblolly Pine is in 

 its dimensions not surpassed by any other pine of the Atlantic forest region. In such cases tlie 

 tree attains a height of 120 to 150 feet and over, with a diameter of from 1 to 5 feet breast high, 

 and with the trunk clear of limbs for a length of from CO to 80 feet. 



' The Forests, Forest Lands, and Forest Products of Eastern North Carolina, by W. W. Ashe. Bulletin 5 of the 



Geological Survey of North Carolina, 1895. 



'•' Engelmann's revision of the genus Piuus. Transactions of the St. Louis Academy of Sciences, 'vol. iv, p. 177. 

 'Pluckenet: Amalges turn hotanieum. London, 1(596. 

 *Linn:eus: Species plantarum, 1000, 1753. 



17433— No. 13 8 



