454 A HANDBOOK OF CONIFERS 



Var. prostrata. 



Prostrate in habit. A plant may be seen in the rock garden 

 at Kew. 



This species is distinguished amongst the five-leaved pines 

 by the horizontal masses of its bluish green foliage, and the 

 tufts of hairs below the insertion of the leaves. The essential 

 characters of its near ally P. monticola are described under that 

 species. 



As a native tree the Weymouth pine has a very wide distribu- 

 tion in Canada and the N. United States. The northern limit of 

 its range extends from Newfoundland to Manitoba, and it is found 

 throughout the United States from Minnesota to the Atlantic, 

 and south of Pennsylvania along the Appalachians to N. Georgia. 

 In accessible places the original forests have, owing to the com- 

 mercial value of the timber, been much reduced and few large 

 trees remain. P. Strohus is the tallest conifer occurring east of the 

 Rocky Mountains, and records exist of trees up to 260 ft. high 

 and 20 ft. in girth. Such giants have, however, disappeared and 

 specimens of 150 ft. high are not common. P. Strohus was origin- 

 ally distinguished by Plunkenet in 1696, and was first cultivated 

 in Britain at Badminton, Gloucestershire, by the Duchess of 

 Beaufort, but none of the original specimens are known to exist 

 there. The tree owes its common name of Weymouth pine to the 

 fact that Lord Weymouth planted it largely at Longleat, Wilts, 

 early in the eighteenth century. 



Wood Ught, about 24 lb. per cubic ft. when dry, resin ducts 

 easily seen with a lens, but they are not very numerous, rays 

 fine, not easily seen. Heartwood usually pinkish, light red on 

 exposure, sap wood pale yellow or almost white, narrow. The 

 timber is straight-grained, soft, easily worked, and finishes with 

 a fine even surface. It rarely shrinks once it has been well 

 seasoned, and takes paint and polish well. In large trees the 

 wood is very free from knots, and it is not subject to serious 

 shakes. It is useful for general joinery work, particularly the 

 indoor finish of houses, doors, window-sashes, cupboards, joists, 

 flooring, aircraft, pattern-making for foundry work, veneered 

 cabinet work, boxes, matches, also in shipbuilding for spars, 

 masts, etc. It is one of the most important timbers of the United 

 States and Canada, and is typical of a group of species, including 

 P. monticola, P. Lambertiana and P. koraiensis, all of which 

 produce very similar timber suitable for the same purposes. 

 They may be used as substitutes for one another. The supply 

 of timber of P. Strohus has decreased considerably during recent 

 years ; the cut in Canada for 1915 amounted to only 849,196 metric 

 ft. board measure, as against 1,038,542 metric ft. in 1911. 



P. Strohus gives the best results when planted under cool 



