p. HALEPENSIS 47 



As long as anyone remains on English shores, 

 they will have very little opportunity of either making 

 trial of the softness of its leaves or experiments upon 

 the portions of its harder externals. It is one of 

 those many Atlantic Coast Pines that seem to derive 

 no homely joys from any stay with us. 



It is dissociated in appearance from the other 

 short two-leaved Pines in that its leaves are three- 

 sided, while all the others are two-sided or flat. The 

 brittle nature of its shoots, their blue-white bloom 

 of colour, the complications of the character of its 

 basal sheath of the leaves, all give aid to identity. 



But as the tree was introduced in i72>9, and there 

 appears to be only two or three specimens extant 

 with us, any chances for putting into practice a little 

 observation on these points are likely to be remotely 

 removed from the paths in life that most of us are 

 wont to traverse. 



P. Halepensis, Aleppo, or Jerusalem Pine. — The 

 same remarks as to their scarcity of appearance which 

 applied to the preceding P. Echinata refer equally 

 to this Pine. It is the commonest of the Mediter- 

 ranean region, and though it has, under transportation 

 to Australia and other places, thrived and made 

 conquest of new lands and countries, England is not 

 to be counted among them. 



It is one of those Pines that must be remembered, 

 among several others (Pinaster, Thunbergii), as 

 achieving success on barren seashores. As a sand- 

 dune tree and in the production of resin, it is reported 

 to even outclass the Pinaster of the Landes. Like a 

 goat, that is said to thrive on orange-peel and brown 

 paper, P. Halepensis is quite happy on soilless lands 

 and rocks where nothing else thrives. 



If by chance you came across a two-leaved low 

 tree, with branches singularly devoid of leaves, and 



