EARLY GROWTH OF SHOKTLEAF PINE. 



105 



to 2.^ inches in diameter. At the age of fifteen to twenty years, with a total height of from 20 to 30 

 feet ami a diameter breast high of 4 to 5 inches, the crown of the tree occnpies from one-half to 

 five-eighths of its height. Henceforth throughout the period of quickest growth its rate is greatly 

 influenced by conditions of light and soil. At the age of fifty years the height of the trees varies 

 between 40 and 60 feet and the diameter breast high between 10 and 14 inches. About this age 

 or perhaps a short time before, the height growth begins to decline and the branches become 

 somewhat reclining below and sjireadiug toward the top, and consequently the head of the tree 

 becomes more rounded in outline. Between the ages of sixty and seventy years the trees are from 

 50 to 70 feet high and from 12 to 15 inches in diameter, with the trunk clear of limbs for 30 to 

 rarely over 40 feet. From this period on the growth proceeds at a slower rate. On reaching its 

 one hundredth year the tree has attained a height between 90 and 95 feet and a diameter of 

 from 10 to 19 inches at most. Having now passed its period of vigorous life, the growth is 

 henceforth insignificant. Between the ages of one hundred and twenty and one hundred and 

 thirty years trees were found 90 to 110 feet high and from IS to 24 inches in diameter. The oldest 

 tree encountered in the measurements, with two hundred and eight rings of annual growth in 

 the stump, scarcely exceeded 109 feet in height and measured 24 inches in diameter. The largest 

 tree felled was 117 feet high and 25 inches in diameter with one hundred and forty-three rings in 

 the stump. Occasionally trees are found of a diameter exceeding 3 feet, but such are exceptional. 



Table I. — Growth of Shortleaf Pine (Pinus echinata), from eight to fifty years. 



