404 A HANDBOOK OF CONIFERS 



of S. California and north to the Cascades and Coast Ranges of 

 Oregon. Discovered by Douglas in 1825 on the Multomah River 

 in Oregon and introduced by him in 1827. Most of the plants 

 reared from his seed appear to have died, but a further supply of 

 seed was collected by Lobb in 1851. A section of wood of the 

 original tree introduced to the garden of the Royal Horticultural 

 Society is preserved in the Forestry Museum at Kew. It is 18 in. 

 in diameter and several of the annual rings are ^-| in. apart. 



Wood light, 22-24 lb, per cubic ft. when dry, with conspicuous 

 resin ducts. Heartwood yellowish to pale brown, not reddish as 

 in P. Strobus, sapwood yellowish white. The timber is of first- 

 class quality and very slightly inferior to that of P. Strobus; 

 is straight -grained, easily worked, compact, soft, poUshes well, 

 and is obtainable in large dimensions free from blemishes, but 

 requires careful seasoning. The total cut for 1916 is given as 

 169,250,000 board ft. It is used for building purposes, par- 

 ticularly the indoor finish of houses, and for all other uses of 

 best white pine, including pattern- making. A sugary exudation 

 possessing cathartic properties is obtained from the heartwood, 

 particularly of charred and wounded trees, and is sometimes 

 used as a substitute for sugar. Similar exudations may be 

 noticed from the sawn wood. The seeds are occasionally used 

 for food, but are less valuable than those of several other species. 



In its native country the sugar pine does not cone in a young 

 state and mature trees do not cone freely with any degree of 

 regularity. Unless the seed falls upon ground offering ideal 

 conditions for germination and subsequent growth, reproduction 

 is poor, and P. 2)07iclerosa takes its place. Shade is necessary 

 for seedhngs, but later it is very intolerant of shade and often 

 occurs as the dominant tree over an undergrowth of fir. The 

 root system is shallow and the best specimens are found on light 

 but good moist loamy soil. Moist chmatic conditions are 

 advantageous, and the best trees are usually found in misty 

 valleys with an annual rainfall of at least 35-40 in. It is not 

 common in collections in the British Isles, and cones are produced 

 sparingly on cultivated trees. Good specimens occur here and 

 there in gardens in the midland and southern counties of England, 

 growing under similar conditions to the Weymouth pine, and it 

 is worth trying in experimental forest groups in the deep valleys 

 of Wales, Ireland, and W. Scotland. The difficulty of obtaining 

 seed in quantity is against its general inclusion in forest schemes 

 in this and other countries. In addition to other places good 

 specimens are growing at Dropmore, Arley Castle, Westonbirt, 

 and Kew. 



Cooper, Sugar Pine and Western Yellow Pine in California, For. Ser. Bxill. 

 69, U.S. Dept. of Agric. (1906) ; Jepson, Silva of California, 7 (1910) ; Hough, 

 American Woods, vi, No. 146, p. 51 (1895). 



