TREES GROWING IN SANDY SOIL. 



249 



feet of it. The soil in which it grows is said to be poi- 

 soned by it, and thus it wreaks an indirect injury upon brows- 

 ing cattle. The only way to dispel its supposed evil influence 

 is to have it mysteriously burned down, as the superstitious 

 dread of it is strong enough to preserve it from the axe. 



CANADIAN PINE. RED PINE. {Plate CXXXV) 



Pinus resinbsa. 



FAMILY 

 Pine. 



SHAPE 

 Pyramidal^ irregular. 



TIME OF BLOOM 

 M ay \ June. 



HEIGHT RANGE 



So-yo-isofeet. New Foundland and 

 northward to 

 Wisconsin. 



Bark : reddish brown ; almost smooth ; becoming scaly when old. 

 Branches : red ; smooth. Leaves : five to eight inches long ; dark green 

 simple ; growing along the branches in bunches of two and having at their 

 bases a long, persistent sheath ; needle-shaped ; rounded on the upper side, 

 the lower one hollowed ; supple ; glabrous. Cones : two to three inches long ; 

 growing at the apex of the branches in crowded clusters ; ovate-conical ; glab- 

 rous. Scales : rounded at their bases ; somewhat thickened and having no 

 prickly points. 



It is to the clear, bright colour 

 of the bark of its trunk that this 

 species of pine owes its name of 

 red pine, but its specific name is 

 rather misleading. The tree is 

 not nearly so rich in resin as 

 many another. This resin which 

 we find in the wood of coniferous 

 trees plays an important part in 

 their construction. With the oil 

 of turpentine which is held in the 

 tree, it forms a sticky substance 

 well known as balsam. And bal- 

 sam is the balm for all the pine 

 tree's wounds. Wherever the 

 trunk, the branches, or even the 

 leaves have been bruised it ex- 

 udes and adheres closely to the 

 spot. By the action of the sun pinus resinbsa. 



