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Editorial 



NATURE-STUDY FROM A CAR WINDOW 



We are quite sure that we should be able to identify South 

 Carolina by its trees, supposing other evidences of its individuality 

 were lacking. For one long, beautiful, sunny day the trees that 

 decked the broad acres of this venerable State waved branches at 

 us as we journeyed southward by train, with the result of making 

 us feel very well acquainted indeed. 



We began in the morning with thousands of acres of scattered 

 pines. At first the species was the Northern Pitch Pine (P. 

 rigida), but ere long, this gave way to a species of much longer 

 needles and longer cones. There were two remarkable things 

 about the growth of these pines: one, that they were always 

 sparcely set, as if Nature knew the amount of soil and water 

 available for each tree; and the other, that often there would 

 be many acres with trees of the same height and age as if due to 

 the work of foresters ; and yet the surroundings belied the practice 

 of scientific forestry. But there they were, making us think in 

 a desultory fashion of those forests in Europe where each block 

 of woodland is painfully monotonous in size of its trees. These 

 pines of South Carolina are straight and tall, especially the long 

 leafed species; and the seedlings were such funny youngsters, 

 each lifting up one mighty tassel of laaves a foot long, evidence of 

 its year-old-ness; while the three-year-olds reached out tassel- 

 tipped branches like whisk-brooms only they were green and vital. 

 Here and there through these scattered pines a road wound its 

 way in and out, hardly more than a well worn trail, it gleamed 



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