424 



AMERICAN FORESTRY 



zontal layers or whorls, that is, from three to seven or 

 more side branches originate about the main stem at a 

 given point and the space between successive layers is 

 free from lateral branches. After the lateral branches 

 fall off they leave distinct circles of branch traces at 

 rather regular intervals along the trunk, which may re- 

 main evident for 25 years or more. 



FIVE STEPS IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF A WHITE 

 PINE SEEDLING 



From the seed to a one-year-old seedling. The seed coat may 

 persist for several weeks after the tiny seedling pushes its way 

 through the soil. A one-year-old seedling is only about one and 

 one-half inches high and bears solitary needles. The needles do 

 not appear in clusters of five until the second year. 



The fruit of the white pine is a cone. When full 

 grown it is from 5 to 10 inches long and covered with 

 numerous thin flat scales. At the base of each scale 

 two winged seeds are produced. The seeds are brown in 

 color and small in size. It takes from 25,000 to 35,000 

 separate seeds to make a pound of clean seed, which is 



A CLUSTER OF NEEDLES AND A CONE 



White ipine needles come in bunches of five and the cone is very 

 beautiful, being when full grown from 5 to 10 inches in length. 



DISTINGUISHING CHARACTERISTICS ARE HERE 

 VERY PLAINLY SHOWN 



A twig of white Pine bearing immature and mature leaves in 

 bundles of s each, and a cluster of staminate flowers. 



sufficient to sow 100 square feet of nursery bed, and if 

 all goes well each nursery bed will produce from 10,000 

 to 15,000 two-year-old seedlings. 



The bark is also a helpful means of identification. On 

 the twigs it is smooth and greenish-brown ; but on the 

 older branches it is light to dark brown and scaly. On 

 large trunks the bark is dark gray and roughened b\ 

 deep fissures which extend up and down along the stem. 



The wood is soft, straight-grained, and works easily. 

 It weighs about 25 pounds per cubic foot, and was for- 

 merly used for a wider range of purposes than any other 

 American wood. White pine wood has stood out es- 

 pecially as a building material. In the early days only 

 the choicest material was used. Houses may be found 

 today which were built years ago and covered with 

 weatherboards in which not a single knot can be found 

 in the whole house. Only the best was used then. Now 

 we are obliged to take any grade and pay a high price 

 for it. 



The form of the white pine varies with its environment. 

 If grown in dense stands such as prevailed in the origi- 

 nal forests, the stems will be straight and taper gradually, 

 and the lateral branches are found only in the shallow 

 crown, often a hundred or more feet above the ground. 

 But if the white pine grows in the open with plenty of 

 space and sunlight on all sides, the crown will resemble a 

 pyramid in form and extend almost to the ground. The 

 lateral branches will persist for many years unless they 



