2212 



ARBORETUM AND FRUTICETUM. 



PART 111. 



2097 



and the cones, which are quite destitute of prickles, are about 2 in. long, 

 rounded at the base, and abruptly pointed. The concentric circles of the 

 wood are very close; and the wood, when wrought, exhibits a fine compact 

 grain. It is very heavy ; an^l this, according to Michaux, arises from the quan- 

 tity of resinous matter with which it is impregnated. The finest trees of 

 this species in England are at White Knights and Dropmore ; at both which 

 places they are from 20 ft. to 25 ft. in 

 height, and produces cones, in general, 

 every other year. The habit of the tree, 

 at both places, is very well represented by 

 fig. 2097., which is the portrait of a tree 

 at Dropmore (to a scale of 1 in. to 8 ft.), 

 taken in August, 1837. The tree in the 

 Hackney arboretum, which was raised 

 at the same time as those at White 

 Knights, and of the identity of which, 

 from the buds and leaves, there can be no 

 doubt, not thriving in the London smoke, 

 is only 4 ft. 3 in. high. 



Geography^ History, Sfc. The elder 

 Michaux first observed the red pine near 

 Lake St. John, in Canada, in n. lat. 48° ; 

 and his son did not find it extend farther 

 south than Wilkesborough, in Pennsyl- 

 vania, in lat. 41° 30'. It is rare, the 

 latter observes, in all the country south 

 of the river Hudson ; but it abounds in 

 Nova Scotia ; and Mackenzie states that 

 he saw it beyond Lake Superior. It is 

 not found in immense forests, but occu- 

 pies small tracts of a few hundred acres in extent, alone or mingled 

 with the white pine; growing only in dry sandy soils. Mr. M'Nab only 

 found this species in the neighbourhood of Kingston, and on the banks 

 of the Genessee in the state of New York. lie was informed, however, that 

 it was abundant in the interior of the country, at a distance from the rivers 

 and lakes. This species is mentioned, in the Traite fles Arhrcs, &c., of 

 Du Hamel, published in 17.5.3, as the pin rouge de Canada; but, as he 

 says he received the description of it from M. Gaultier, who was con- 

 seiller an conseil superieur, et medecin du roi, at Quebec, it is probable 

 that living specimens were not sent to France. It was introduced into 

 Britain by Hugh Duke of Northumberland, in 1 75G ; and Mr. Lambert, 

 writing in 1804, mentions that the greatest number of trees in England 

 were then at Syon House. He also found one at Pain's Hill, and mentions 

 others at Kenwood. The whole of these trees seem to be dead, or cut 

 down ; for we could not find one at Pain's Hill, and there are none at Syon or 

 Kenwood. About the end of the last century, Messrs. Loddiges raised nearly 

 100 plants of P. resinosa, from seeds received from Bartram of Phila- 

 delphia; and nearly the whole of these were planted by the then Marquess 

 of Blandford (the present Duke of Marlborough) at White Knights, where a 

 number of them still exist, though they have been much injured by other 

 trees ; and tliey have borne cones for several years past. 



Properties and Uses. The concentric circles of the wood of this tree, 

 Michaux observes, are small, and it consequently exhibits a fine grain ; and, being 

 rendered heavy by the resinous matter with which it is impregnated, it is 

 highly esteemed in Canada for its strength and durability. It is employed to 

 furnish planks for the decks of ships, which are often 40 ft. long, without a 

 single knot ; and, stripped of its sap wood, it makes excellent pumps. It 

 has also been used for the masts of ships ; and Du Hamel {Traite des 

 Arbres), and after him Michaux, mention that the mainmast of the St. Law- 



