154 THE PINES 



Observation shows that natural reproduction is slow and 

 uncertain. If the seeds are not sown in proper places, or 

 are largely destroyed by animals, or are not frequently 

 produced, a new crop of trees cannot be brought forth 

 to any considerable extent. Another thing works against 

 natural reproduction. If the seed falls in a suitable place 

 and germinates, the young tree's struggle has begun at a 

 time when it is least able to combat the foes which attack 

 it. The young tree seldom attains a height of over seven 

 inches in as many years from its birth. If cattle are per- 

 mitted to tramp over the ground, or fire runs over it, 

 practically a sure event, for the " pineries " are almost 

 certain to be burned over where there is enough material 

 to burn, in order to furnish pasture for cattle, the little 

 trees are sure to be destroyed. Or, if the grass and weeds 

 are very rank and tall, they may be suppressed. 



Neither is artificial reforestation without its difficulties. 

 Not another of our valuable timber trees has so pronounced 

 a tap-root, one which so persists from youth to old age. As 

 stated above, at the end of the seventh year of its life the 

 stem does not often reach more than that number of inches 

 above the surface, while the tap-root may have penetrated 

 the ground that number of feet, and at maturity it fre- 

 quently reaches a depth of sixteen feet ; and, what is more, 

 any interference with the tap-root is emphatically resented 

 during the whole life of the tree. It does not appear to 

 have the power to overcome any serious obstruction it may 

 meet with in the ground. Even a clayey or impervious sub- 

 soil within a few feet of the surface will most seriously in- 

 terfere with the tree's growth. After six or seven years of 

 age it grows rapidly until it reaches an age of sixty or 

 seventy years, when its annual increase in height begins to 

 lessen and the annual layers are thinner. Of course this 

 largely depends upon surroundings and conditions of soil, 

 moisture, and the like. 



As no interference with the tap-root will be tolerated, 

 artificial propagation must consist entirely in gathering 



