176 THE PINES 



former continent. It belongs to the class of hard Pines, al- 

 though not as highly charged with resin as many of them 

 are. In its home it sometimes attains a height of one hun- 

 dred to one hundred and twenty-five feet, with a diameter 

 of four or five feet, and when grown in the forest may be 

 clean of limbs for one third to one half its height. In some 

 respects it has the characteristics of our Norway Pine, but 

 is less liable to drop its lower limbs when growing either 

 in an open or in a dense stand. It is of ironclad hardiness 

 and makes moderate demands upon the soil for mineral 

 food, but prefers that of fair fertility with a well-drained 

 subsoil. As it has not been grown to maturity for timber 

 in this country, we know comparatively little about its 

 economic value. Except in some localities in the Western 

 States it has been planted for ornamental purposes only, 

 and experience in that direction does not give promise of 

 good results when attempts shall be made to grow it for 

 lumber. It appears to grow well for twenty to twenty-five 

 years and then shows signs of weakened vitality. Some 

 groves planted for forest purposes in a western state have 

 a large number of crooked and distorted trees. This may 

 come from some injury or defect in the " leader," although 

 crooks appear between the annual whorls of limbs ; or it 

 may come from improperly selected seed, 1 for it is claimed 

 that seed from abroad is collected from dwarfed and de- 

 fective trees because it can be more easily gathered from 

 such. This may be so, and if it is there is a chance, through 

 proper selection of seed, for the tree to be as valuable here 

 as abroad. 



In Europe the wood is strong, elastic, close-grained, not 

 difficult to work, and in appearance somewhat resembles 

 our Norway Pine. It is not durable when placed in con- 

 tact with the soil, notwithstanding that it is a trifle resinous. 

 It takes paint well, is used for nearly all building purposes, 



1 " Scotch Pine in the Baltic provinces invariably has straighter trunks 

 and yields wood of a higher quality than the Scotch Pine of central Ger- 

 many." Raphael Zon, in Forest Quarterly, vol. tt, No. 2, page 217. 



