220 BOTANICAL GAZETTE [SEPTEMBER 



WOOD 



Pifion wood is moderately heavy for the pines. It is used exten- 

 sively for fuel and has been limitedly used for fence posts, telephone 

 poles, corral posts, mine lagging, railroad ties, charcoal, and inferior 

 lumber. Some authorities have recommended its use for fence posts, 

 but this is to be seriously questioned as it has little durability in contact 

 with the soil, and even the natives are discarding it for such use. It 

 may be rendered valuable, however, by the use of preservatives. The 

 tree is remarkable in its fuel value, and its use for such a purpose 

 should be greatly encouraged. It is a common practice to cut 

 branches or trees after they have been dead about two years. If 

 cut before this time, the wood has not seasoned sufficiently to burn 

 readily. If cut after this time, it has usually deteriorated to some 

 extent. As a hearth fuel, it is not surpassed by another conifer and 

 by only few hardwoods. It starts to burn readily, retains fire for a con- 

 siderable length of time, gives a large amount of heat, and does not 

 throw sparks. Since open fires are very common in this region, this 

 wood serves an excellent purpose. Sample acres which have been 

 clear cut have given a yield of 180 to 36o cu m per hectare (20 to 40 

 cords per acre) , while extensive stands have averaged 90 to io8 cu m 

 (10 to 12 cords). 



FRUIT 



The young cones are dark red and occur in elongated clusters. 

 The pistillate form is easily distinguished by short stalks. Both 

 sorts are very plentiful in seed years, but are scarce during other 

 years. The mature cone is short, top-shaped, 19 to 5o mm (0.75 to 

 2 in ) long and often as broad as long. The cones open on the tree 

 and are covered by a large amount of free resin, which makes them 

 difficult to handle. They often occur on trees only 0.9 to i.2 mm 

 (3 to 4 feet) in height, which are ten to twenty years old, but the best 

 crops are borne on mature trees which produce 35 to 28O 1 (i to 8 

 bushels) of cones; each cone contains two to thirty seeds, with an 

 average of ten to twenty seeds. The trees have been known to yield 

 336 kg of seed per hectare (300 pounds per acre), while a much larger 

 area has been known to produce an average of 73 kg per hectare (65 

 pounds per acre). 



