CHAPTER II. 

 THE PIN.E. 



ALTHOUGH, "in all or- most 'of. its species, not next to 

 the oak in the strength or the durability of its timber, 

 the Pine, perhaps, claims the second place among 

 valuable trees. It is very abundant, its growth is 

 comparatively rapid, and its wood is straight, elastic, 

 and easily worked. Accordingly, as oak is the 

 chief timber in building ships for the sea, pine is 

 the principal one in the construction of houses upon 

 land. It is "the Builder's timber:" and as, when the 

 carpenter wants a post or a beam of peculiar strength 

 and durability, he has recourse to the oak; so when 

 the shipwright wishes to have a piece of timber that 

 shall combine lightness with great length, as for a 

 spar or mast, he makes use of the pine. 



The distinct species of pines enumerated by the 

 botanists are about twenty-one. None of these bear 

 flat leaves, but a sort of spines, which, however, 

 are true leaves. They are mostly, though not 

 all, evergreens; but the appearance of the tree, as 

 well as the quality of the timber, varies with the 

 species, and also with the situation in which it grows. 

 Generally speaking, the timber is the more hard and 

 durable the colder the situation is, and the slower 

 the tree grows; and in peculiar positions it is not 

 unusual to find the northern half of a common pine 

 hard and red, while the southern half, though con- 

 siderably thicker from the pith to the bark, is white, 

 soft, and spongy. 



No account can be given of the first use of the 

 different species of pines by the natives of the coun- 



