The Pines 



red cedar. In youth it is a compact cone or globe, resting on 

 the ground. The leaves, two in a sheath, are 6 inches long, and 

 inclined to twist stiffly. They persist several years. Cones 

 ripen in the second autumn, and do not open until another crop is 

 ripe. Large trees are transplanted safely, even in the height of 

 the growing season. 



The Scotch Pine {P. sylvestris, Linn.) is one of the most 

 important timber trees of Europe. In this country it was fre- 

 quently planted about homes, where it has grown to great size. 

 By no means as handsome a tree as our own white pine, it has 

 certain advantages over its companion, the Austrian variety. Its 

 habit is less compact and formal, and its foliage (also in bundles 

 of twos) is shorter, looser and more cheerful looking in spite of 

 its blue tinge. It grows more rapidly, and neatly sheds its 

 cones as soon as ripe, while the Austrian pine shows its bare 

 limbs laden for years with empty cones. 



The Swiss Pines {P. Cembra and moniaiia) are all pictur- 

 esque and hardy, as if they crouched under Alpine blasts, even in 

 the most comfortable situations. Any flat-topped, irregular ever- 

 green growing wild is attractive to the eye of the nurseryman 

 who has a landscape-gardening department and facilities for 

 moving large trees. He is able to get the tree at a bargain from 

 the farmer in whose woodlot or pasture it stands. There is very 

 little cordwood in it. The new owner cuts a big circle around 

 the tree the depth of a spade, severing the roots outside this 

 boundary. A year later a thick mat of rootlets has resulted from 

 this root pruning, and in the winter the tree is easily taken up 



and planted in just the right place on Mr. 's new country 



place. He points out to his friends the striking " Swiss-pine 

 effect " of this tree etched against the sky. It is a good thing, 

 and worth the price, even if he never heard of a Swiss pine 

 before in his life. 



The Mugho Pine has a shrubby habit, spreading twice its 

 height. It is one of several dwarf varieties of the Swiss moun- 

 tain pine {P. montana, Mill.), and is very effective as a speci- 

 men tree or grouped with others to cover rocky hillsides. 



The Stone Pine {P. Pinea) and the Aleppo Pine {P. Hale- 

 pcnsis) are natives of southern Europe and so not hardy. The 

 Macedonian Pine {P. Pence) ar\d Xhe Cluster Pine {P. Pin- 

 aster) have the same climatic limitations in this country, though 



53 



