144 THE PINES 



White Pine, which is highly appropriate. It is emphatically 

 a Western tree, and its technical name, Pinus monticola^ 

 tells us that it grows on the mountains. 



It may be found intermittently on the Coast and Cas- 

 cade ranges of mountains from the Canadian line well 

 down into California, in eastern Washington and northern 

 Idaho and Montana. The region of its best development 

 is in the three last-named states. The author saw fairly good 

 specimens of the tree growing on the northern slope of 

 Mount Shasta, but was informed that much better ones 

 grew in northern Idaho and Montana. It is seldom found 

 growing below 5000 feet above sea level, and sometimes 

 reaches an elevation of 10,000 feet. It flourishes best along 

 bottom lands and streams. 



At its best it grows to a height of one hundred and 

 twenty-five feet and a diameter of five feet, but these 

 dimensions are seldom found. It has a slight taper of stem, 

 quite free of large limbs, when grown in a dense stand, but 

 in the open may have one or more large branches reaching 

 out ten or more feet beyond the other slender ones. This 

 peculiarity distinguishes the tree and makes it easily re- 

 cognized at a distance. In many respects it resembles the 

 Eastern White Pine and may be only a variation of that 

 tree brought about by environment. Its cones, however, are 

 much longer, sometimes reaching fifteen inches in length, 

 but not proportionally larger in diameter than those of the 

 Eastern White Pine. The seeds are about one third of an 

 inch long, with a wing nearly an inch in length. The leaves 

 are bluish green, from three to four and one half inches 

 long, with something of a silver sheen, and, as with other 

 Soft Pines, in clusters of five. The bark is thin and in mature 

 trees broken into small square scales, in this respect being 

 totally unlike that of any other Pine. The scales are readily 

 blown off by winds and leave the stem of the tree a red 

 brown color. Its thin bark, seldom an inch thick, makes it 

 an easy victim for forest fires. 



Like all other Pines it will, in early life, throw out limbs 



