152 THE PINES 



stem of the Longleaf Pine in the forest is straight and but 

 slightly tapering, and free from limbs fully, if not more 

 than, one half its height, occasionally reaching eighty feet 

 without a limb. When it has once reached the height be- 

 yond which it refuses to grow, it throws out large limbs, 

 none of which are particularly specialized, but are branched 

 and crooked, and have dense tufts of long dark green leaves 

 at the ends. The leaves are frequently eighteen inches long, 

 are in clusters of three, and inclosed at their base in a long 

 sheath. They are so flexible that they hang down from the 

 limbs, and even in the period of rapid growth the leaves of 

 the " leader " hang over gracefully and plume-like instead 

 of standing upright, as with most other Pines. The leaves 

 are shed at the end of the second year. They are sometimes 

 woven into coarse fabrics for mats and the like. 



The wood is heavy and strong, among the Pines only 

 the Cuban Pine equaling it in weight. None of the softwood 

 conifers, except the Douglas Fir, surpass it in strength or 

 stiffness, while in hardness and durability of heartwood, 

 when exposed to the weather or in contact with the soil, 

 it surpasses that excellent wood. It is tough, does not warp 

 or split in seasoning, is straight-grained, with light red to 

 orange-colored heartwood, and a lighter colored sapwood. 

 The thickness of the sapwood, however, varies with the lo- 

 cality, and in all cases it is thinner in old than in young 

 trees, and frequently proportionally less towards the top 

 than at the bottom. There is a marked difference in both 

 color and hardness of the spring and summer wood, the 

 latter being more heavily charged with resin. The heart- 

 wood is highly resinous and the sapwood and live bark 

 are well filled with turpentine. It is the large amount of 

 resin in the heartwood that causes it successfully to resist 

 decay, and the turpentine in the sapwood furnishes the na- 

 val stores of commerce. Old fallen trees may be found with 

 the sapwood all decayed and the heartwood perfectly sound. 

 A century may have elapsed since they fell. The annual 

 rings are very distinct ; the wood is moderately coarse- 



