MORPHOLOGICAL CHARACTERS. 



21 



fasiigiain, firacilif'olia, raricgata, zebrina, iiiid jiroslnita), s()Ilu^ of wliicli ani i)n>i);ij^iitfil mid sold as 

 special attractions in nurseries. 



l.'ELATIONSHir. 



The White Pine (Pinvx .itrohux) is closely related to Mie Uiiotiin i'ine ( PlnuK e.irrlKfi) of India, 

 Uie Swiss iStone I'iiic (I'uihk ccmhra) of soutliern lOuropo, tiio W'liite Pine [I'inus Jle.rilis) of tlu; 

 Eocky Mountains, tlie Sugar Pine (Pinus lamhertiana) of the Pacific coast, and a nuniher of otliers 

 less j^euerally known, of whicli Pinus 'montirola, P. nlbicauliii, P. utrohi/ormix, P. quadri/blia, P. 

 ])((rri/<tn<i, iind ]'. cfnihroidcs are natives of the I'nited 

 States. 



The si)ecies belouginij to this section of tlie pine genus 

 are distinguished by tlieir slender, delicate leaves, live in 

 a sheatli; by the exceptionally soft and even texture of 

 their wood, and by certain well-delined botanical cUarac 

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

 recognized group. 



The group of si)ecies just named shows a preference, 

 generally characteristic of this section of iiiiies, for ele- 

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

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

 rocky places, and manifestly preferring these to low and 

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

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

 rapid growth, and forming magnificent specimens from 

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

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

 however, a beautiful, flne-graiued wood, extensively used 

 by the Swiss peasants for carving. The Bhotan Pine of 

 the Himalayas is the representative of the White Pine iu 

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

 of wood, and various reclinical characters. 



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

 of their jjreferences aiul habits would be of much interest iu relation to their cultivation beyond 

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

 are certain to manifest themselves. 



MORPHOLOGICAL CHARACTERS 



IM)OT, STEM, AND ISRANCII SYSTEM. 



Tn the natural forest, with a due amount of shade, the White Pine has at maturity a straight 

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

 the til) of the leader. 



The branches are for many years disposed regularly in whorls, and during this early period 

 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 arc short lived, and 

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

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

 gives it the greater value as a timber tree. 



The crown, at first pyramidal, is finally less regular, although rarely liattening, and, owing to 

 the rapid and per-sistent growth of the tree, consi)icuousiy 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 grouiul; 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. 



