MORPHOLOGICAL CHARACTERS. 



21 



fastiffiata, graciUfolia, rarieriatn, zthrlnn, and proslr((t(i}, some of whicli are propagated and sold as 

 special attractions in nurseries. 



RELATIONSHIP. 



The White J'ini' {Pinus strobus) is closely related to tlit; Uliotan I'ine {I'lnun e.rcclno) of India, 

 the Swiss Stoue Piue {Pinus cembra) of southern Europe, the White Pine (Finns Jie.vilis) of the 

 liocky Mountains, the Sugar Pine [Pitius Jamhertiana) of the Pacific coast, and a nnmhcr of others 

 less generally known, of which Finns monticola, P. nlbiraulis, P. strohiforinis, P. (jiuidri/olia, P. 

 parryana, and F. ccmbroides are natives of the T'nited 

 States. 



The sjiecie.s belonging to this section of the pine genus 

 are distinguished by their slender, delicate leaves, five in 

 a sheath ; by the exceptionally soft and even texture of 

 their wood, ami by certain wclldertned botanical charac- 

 ters, by which they are marked as a natural and easily 

 recognized group. 



Tlie group of species just named shows a preference, 

 generally characteristic of this section of pines, for ele- 

 vated, mountain regions, and a light rather than a heavy 

 soil, making, as a rule, a healthy growth ou sandy and 

 rocky places, and manifestly preferi'ing these to low and 

 heavy soil. All are handsome trees, symmetrical in form, 

 some of them, as the Sugar Pine (Pinus lanibertiana), of 

 rapid growth, and forming magnificent specimens from 

 150 to over 200 feet in height, wliile others are of slow 

 growth, as the Stoue Pine of the Alps, which produces, 

 however, a beautiful, fine-grained wood, extensively used 

 by the Swiss peasants for carving. The Bhotan Pine of 

 the Himalayas is the representative of the White Pine in 

 Asia, resembling it very closely in habit, size, structure 

 of wood, and various technical characters. 



Admitting the common ancestry of these various species, a more extended comparative study 

 of their preferences and habits would be of much interest in relation to their cultivation beyond 

 their natural range, considering the fact that, whatever their environment, such ancestral traits 

 are certain to manifest themselves. 



Fig. l._B.->rk of old White Pine. 



MORPHOLOGICAL CHARACTERS. 



ROOT, STEM, AND BRANCH SV.STEM. 



In the natural forest, with a due amount of shade, the White I'inc has at maturity a straight 

 columnar trunk, destitute of branches for half to two-thirds of the distance from the ground to 

 the tip of the leader. 



The branches are for many years disposed regularly in whorls, and during this early i)eriod 

 the tree retains a symmetrical, conical form, and is one of the most graceful of the pines for orna- 

 mental cultivation, but, as is the case with other conifers, the lower branches are short lived, and 

 ultimately, by their decay, the tree becomes unsightly. This fact, which renders thi.s species, in 

 common with all other conifers, undesirable during part of their lifetime for ornamental pirrposes, 

 gives it the greater value as a timber tree. 



The crown, at first pyramidal, is fiimlly less regular, although rarely fiatteuing, and, owing to 

 the rapid and persistent growth of the tree, conspicuously overtops the surrounding forest of 

 deciduous trees. The root system is small compared with the size of the tree and spreads near the 

 surface of the ground; its comparatively slight development is in harmony with the less pro- 

 nounced dependence of this species on the soil and its greater dependence on the atmosphere. 



