156 THE PINES 



CUBAN PINE : Pinus heterophylla 



CUBAN PINE has escaped the burden of many names, 

 no doubt because it was long thought to be a variety of 

 Longleaf Pine, and even botanists did not consider it a 

 separate species until a comparatively recent date. There 

 is no distinction made in the lumber trade. The most gen- 

 erally used local names are Slash Pine and Swamp Pine, 

 the latter quite appropriate. 



Its natural range is in a belt from thirty to one hundred 

 miles wide from South Carolina along the Atlantic Coast to 

 southern Florida and thence west along the Gulf near the 

 Mississippi River. As this indicates, its natural home is 

 much more restricted than that of the Longleaf. It is dis- 

 tinctively a coast tree, and the probabilities are that it 

 cannot be spread much, if any, beyond its natural range. 

 It prefers a moist, sandy soil, and even grows in swamps. 

 Where the ground is not too wet, Longleaf Pine, which it 

 closely resembles, will be found a congenial companion. 

 Its leaves, however, are not as long, seldom being over 

 twelve inches, and they are in bundles of twos and threes, 

 inclosed in a long sheath. They are a glassy, deep-green 

 color, and are shed the second year. They grow in dense 

 tufts at the end of the branches, but are not so flexible or 

 pendant as those of the Longleaf. On the average the 

 Cuban Pine does not grow as large as the Longleaf and 

 its stem tapers a trifle more ; and not as large dimension 

 stuff can be cut from it, although trees one hundred feet 

 high and thirty inches in diameter are frequently found. 



The wood is exceedingly hard for a Pine, if anything 

 harder than that of the Longleaf, is strong and durable, 

 but splits easily. It is heavy, a green log will sink, 

 the heartwood light orange-red, with thick lighter-colored 

 sapwood and very resinous. Thin stuff warps badly in 

 seasoning unless carefully piled. It is used for substan- 

 tially all purposes that Longleaf Pine is put to. 



The tree is a prolific seeder ; it bears cones early and 



