THE JERSEY PINE OR SCRUB PINE 



A LONG the Atlantic coast from New York to Georgia another scrub pine occurs 

 l-\ which is often called the Jersey Pine because it is the species found in the pine 

 -*- J*- barrens along the New Jersey shore. Technically it is known as Pinus Virginiana 

 In several respects it resembles the Jack Pine : the pairs of gray-green leaves are short and 

 stout and the manner of growth is scrubby, but the scales of the cones are armed with 

 short spines, a fact which at once differentiates this species from the Jack Pine. 



In the East the Jersey Pine seldom reaches a height greater than forty feet or a 

 trunk diameter greater than eighteen inches, but in the Middle West, especially in Indiana 

 and Kentucky, it often attains to twice these proportions. It has comparatively little 

 economic value, though it doubtless serves a very useful purpose in helping to hold in 

 place the barren sandy soils in which it grows, as well as in serving as a cover crop to get 

 other trees started. 



There are also numerous other pines of more or less limited distribution in various 

 parts of America; thirty -four species of native American trees are credited to the genus 

 Pinus in Sargent's Manual of Trees. Aside from those which have already been treated of, 

 the most important of these, perhaps, is the Yellow Pine or Short-leaved Pine {Pinus 

 echinata) which during recent years has furnished a vast quantity of lumber. This tree 

 is native to most of the Southern States, and extends as /ar north as New York and as far 

 west as Texas. It commonly reaches a height of one hundred feet and a trunk diameter 

 of four feet, so that it is very valuable as a timber tree. 



Another important timber species is the Western Yellow Pine (Pinus ponderosa) 

 which ranges over the great region of the United States west of the one hundredth 

 meridian. Along the western side of the Sierra Mountains the trees often reach a 

 height of two hundred feet and a trunk diameter of six feet. It is a desirable tree 

 for forestry purposes in the west. 



For ornamental purposes the pines have various uses. The taller species serve to 

 give a picturesque effect to the landscape, and may be planted on barren upland soil in 

 which many other trees are not likely to thrive. The long tap-roots of the pines, which 

 enable them to thrive on dry soils because the roots go down for water, render them more 

 difficult to transplant than many sorts of trees, and therefore nursery-grown specimens are 

 desirable. There are a number of spreading shrub-like pines which are useful for filling in 

 underwoods or for planting along borders ; probably the best of these is the Swiss Mountain 

 Pine, some varieties of which have a wide spreading habit. 



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