TREES GROWING IN SANDY SOIL. 255 



dark bluish green; simple; growing closely along the branches in bunches of 

 two, or sometimes three on the young shoots, and having sheaths at their bases ; 

 diverging widely at maturity; needle-shaped; slender; dark green, and rounded 

 on the outer side, hollowed on the inner one; soft; evergreen. Cones : one and 

 a half to two inches long; ovate; solitary and lateral; rough and jagged as they 

 grow older. Scales thick at the apex, and tipped with a weak, projecting 

 prickle which falls early. 



Dark, but clear against the autumn sky, this handsome tree 

 raises itself on the sandy hills, or in the flat meadows. It 

 breathes a sense of sturdiness. Often we see its leaves so 

 clothed with dust that the very life of their colouring appears 

 to be gone ; then they are washed by the rain, and their sombre 

 brightness is restored. By the coloured illustration, which is 

 very beautiful, the distinctive cones of the species are clearly 

 represented. When they are old and lying useless upon the 

 ground they are quite jagged and have a used-up ex- 

 pression. 



The tree is rather generally distributed and seems to be get- 

 ting in readiness to supply a new crop of valuable timber when 

 that of Pinus palustris, long- leaved pine, from which its com- 

 mon name of short-leaved pine is used as a designation, shall be 

 exhausted. In many ways the wood of the two trees is similar, 

 although that of Pinus echinata can hardly boast as rich a col- 

 our. It has, however, the same beautiful lines. It is closely or 

 coarsely grained and varies greatly in quality. It is only mod- 

 erately resinous. For all kinds of building and carpentry it is 

 of inestimable value. When used for fuel it emits a large 

 amount of heat and burns with a lively, brilliant flame. 



PITCH PINE. TORCH PINE. CANDLEWOOD PINE. 



(Plate C XXXIX.) 

 Pinus rigida. 



FAMILY 8HAPE HEIGHT RANGE TIME OF BLOOM 



Pine, Head, open; branches, yr-%ofeet. Eastern and Middle April, May. 



irregular; trunk, states; Ga. and Ky. 



curving. 



Bark: dark, tinged with purple or red; rough and deeply furrowed; separat- 

 ing into strips. Leaves: three to six inches long; dark yellow-green ; simple; 

 growing closely along the branches in bunches of three and having short 



