THE WHITE PINE 



BY J. S. ILLICK 



'T'HE white pine stands out pre-eminently among t!ie 

 ^ many forest trees native to eastern North America. 

 Its discovery djtes back to the day the Pilgrims landed 

 on the rocky ?ast of New England. It was probably 

 the first green thing that they saw as they approached the 

 rough and rugged shores of the New World. Seeing 



THIS IS THE FOREST PRIMEVAL 



The original stands of White Pine in Northern Pennsylvania 

 were among the densest and heaviest east of Idaho. 



such beautiful and stately trees immediately upon landing 

 must have given cheer and comfort to this little band of 

 daring and tired sea voyagers. 



It did not take, the early settlers long to find out that 

 this beautiful tree produces excellent wood and that it is 

 adapted to a wide range of uses. As early as 1623 saw- 

 mills began manufacturing white pine lumber, and in 

 1635 a cargo was shipped to England from Massachusetts. 

 It was not long until the demand for white pine lumber 

 became so strong at home and abroad that sawmills 

 sprang up everywhere. 



The lumbermen of colonial days had many hardships 

 to endure, and it must have been comforting to them to 

 find that the white pine stands became denser and the 

 quality of the wood better the farther they penetrated 



into the unbroken forest which then seemed endless and 

 inexhaustible. In those days there seemed to be no ena 

 to the range of the white pine and the supply was thought 

 to be so great that it would last forever. 



Many years passed before the entire range of the 

 white pine became known. But as the pioneers pushed 

 forward they found that this valuable timber tree has 

 limits of distribution. And now we know definitely that 

 it is found only in the eastern part of the United States, 

 extending northward as far as Newfoundland, and the 

 northern shore of the gulf of the St. Lawrence, westward 

 to Manitoba and Minnesota, and southward to Northern 

 Illinois and Pennsylvania and along the Alleghenies to 

 Georgia. The real extent of its wide range may be ap- 

 preciated better by stating that it is native along a North 

 and South line of 1,800 miles and an East and West line 

 of 1,200 miles. 



The merits of the white pine became so well known 

 that at an early date it was planted beyond the limits of 

 its natural range. In 1705 it was introduced into England 



THE BARK OF A VETERAN WHITE Pl.XE 



This large trunk shows clearly the characteristics of the 

 of the species, roughened by deep up and down fissures, 

 dark gray in color. 



bark 

 It is 



