THE WEYMOUTH PINE. 107 



as open sand it strikes its roots to a great depth below 

 the surface, and growing rapidly, often attains a height 

 of twenty feet in thirty years. It takes its name 

 from the way in which it produces its* cones, which 

 generally grow in groups, pointing outwards in a 

 star-like form, hence its title of "pineaster," or star 

 pine. 



The Weymouth Pine (P. strobus}. This tree takes 

 its name from having been largely cultivated by Lord 

 Weymouth, on his estate in Wiltshire, where it 

 succeeded remarkably well and grew vigorously. The 

 tree is a native of America, and may be seen on the 

 hillsides along the route from Canada to Virginia, 

 arriving at its most complete development in the 

 State of Vermont, where it is often met with mea- 

 suring from three to five feet in diameter, and upwards 

 of 150 feet in height. Its timber is white and soft, 

 being in fact the white American pinewood of com- 

 merce, which is largely imported into Britain ; its 

 chief characteristics being that it is remarkable for 

 smoothness of surface, being clean and free from 

 knots, which allows of its being worked with ease, and 

 is consequently in request for inner doors, boardings, 

 mouldings, and house carpentry for the finishing 

 of interiors, etc. 



It is propagated in the same manner as the Scotch 

 pine, but grows in a rich soft soil well, provided it is 

 sheltered by hardier trees, or grown in masses, when 

 it attains a large size. Its appearance is soft and 

 delicate, and its growth somewhat formal, the foliage 

 being silky looking. The tree when young will throw 

 out top shoots of two feet in length during the course 

 of one summer, and its general average rate of growth 



