84 USES OF COMMERCIAL WOODS OF THE UNITED STATES. 



forced to retreat before other trees. This characteristic will be im- 

 portant if the tree should ever be planted for timber. It grows as 

 rapidly as the loblolly pine of the east, the annual rings sometimes 

 being nearly an inch broad, and trees from 28 to 35 years old are 16 

 to 18 inches in diameter. It commonly attains a height of from TO 

 to 90 feet, but the largest trees are taller than this, and sometimes 

 attain a diameter of 6 feet. The tree has been planted for ornament 

 and shelter belts, and a portion of the small quantity of its wood that 

 has been used has been cut from planted trees. It is employed as fuel, 

 a little lumber is occasionally sawed from it, and a small amount finds 

 place as ranch timber near the coast. The tree bears abundance of 

 seeds, but the cones remain closed from 6 to 10 years. 



COULTER PINE (Pinus coulteri). 

 PHYSICAL PROPERTIES. 



Weight of dry wood. 25.8 pounds per cubic foot (Sargent). 



Specific gravity. 0.37 (Sargent). 



Ash. 0.37 per cent of weight of dry wood (Sargent). 



Fuel value. 55 per cent that of white oak (Sargent). 



Breaking strength (modulus of rupture). 10,700 pounds per square inch, 

 or 66 per cent that of longleaf pine (Sargent). 



Factor of stiffness (modulus of elasticity). 1,022,000 pounds per square inch, 

 or 77 per cent that of longleaf pine (Sargent). 



Character and qualities. Light, soft, moderately strong, very tough; annual 

 rings narrow, summerwood broad, resinous, conspicuous ; resin passages few, 

 large ; medullary rays numerous, prominent ; color, light red, the thick sapwood 

 nearly white. 



Growth. Height, 40 to 70 feet ; diameter, IS to 30 inches. 



SUPPLY AND USES. 



The Coulter pine is confined to the coast regions of California, be- 

 tween San Francisco Bay and the Mexican line. It never occurs in 

 pure stands, and the available supply is small. The tree bears con- 

 siderable resemblance to the western yellow pine, but is much inferior 

 in size. Trunks of 10 or 15 feet length are rare, and diameters of from 

 18 to 30 inches are a fair average. In size of cone this pine sur- 

 passes all others, and the cones are further remarkable for the sharp, 

 hooked claws on the ends of the scales. It is not an aggressive tree, 

 and does not push with vigor into vacant spaces, but holds the ground 

 fairly well which it already has. It need not be expected that it will 

 ever exercise much influence upon the lumber supply of the region 

 where it grows. In some localities its short trunk has been sawed 

 into rough lumber for fences, barns, sheds, and irrigation flumes. A 

 larger amount has gone into cordwood, and for that use it is fairly 

 profitable when accessible to market. Its fuel value is a little under 

 that of western yellow pine. It was once burned in pits for charcoal 

 to supply local blacksmith shops, but it is seldom put to that use now. 

 It is knpwn as Coulter pine, nut pine, big cone pine, and large cone 

 pine. 



