THE WHITE PINE. 



THE pines in general have not the formality that distin- 

 guishes the fir and the spruce. They seldom display so 

 much of a pyramidal shape as we observe in a symmetri- 

 cal fir. Their leaves are longer, and their branches not 

 so regularly given out in whorls. They are also more 

 generally round-headed when old; their leaves are in 

 small fascicles, containing from two to five, while those 

 of the fir are arranged singly along the branch or round 

 it. The pine contains a greater quantity of turpentine 

 than any other family of resinous trees, and many of the 

 species are of the highest value in the mechanic arts. 

 In the New England States three species only are known, 

 and of these two only are common. 



The most remarkable of this family of trees, an.d the one 

 that comes nearest the fir in symmetry and formality, 

 is the White Pine. But though like the fir in symme- 

 try, it resembles it the least in all other qualities, having 

 the most flexibility of foliage of all the pines, and bearing 

 its leaves in fives. The White Pine, according to Michaux, 

 " is the loftiest and most valuable of the productions of the 

 North American forest. Its summit is seen at an im- 

 mense distance, aspiring to heaven, far above the heads 

 of the surrounding trees." 



At first sight of a full-grown and well-proportioned 

 White Pine we are struck with its evident adaptedness 

 to all purposes of shade and shelter, in its wide-spread, 

 horizontal branches, and in its silken tufted foliage. It is 

 not impenetrable to sunshine, but admits it in constant 



