CHAP. CXI II 



CONI'FER^E. 



2257 



in diameter, often 

 having 10 in. of per- 

 fect wood. The 

 concentric circles, 

 in a trunk fully de- 

 veloped, are close, 

 and at equal dis- 

 tances ; and the re- 

 sinous matter, which 

 is abundant, is more 

 uniformly distri- 

 buted than in the 

 other species. Hence 

 the wood is strong- 

 er, more compact, 

 and more durable : 

 it is, besides, fine- 

 grained, and sus- 

 ceptible of a high 

 polish. These ad- 

 vantages give it a 

 preference, as a 

 timber tree, over 

 every other Ameri- 

 can pine; but its 

 quality is modified 

 by the nature of the 

 soil in which it 

 grows. In the neigh- 

 bourhood of the sea, 

 where only a thin 

 layer of mould re- 

 poses on the sand, 

 it is more resinous 

 than where the 

 mould is 4 in. or 5 in. 

 thick; and the trees 

 which grow upon 

 the first-mentioned 

 soil are called pitch 

 pines, as if they were 

 distinct species. In 

 certain soils, its 

 wood contracts a 

 reddish hue ; and it 

 is, for that reason, 

 known in the dock- 

 yards of the northern 



states by the name of the red pine. Wood of this tint is considered the 

 best ; and, in the opinion of some shipwrights, it is more durable on the sides 

 of vessels, and less liable to injury from worms, than the oak. In the climate 

 of London, P. australis is rather tender. The largest plant that we know 

 of is at Farnham Castle, which, in 1834, after being 35 years planted, was 

 20 ft. high. There is one at Dropmore, of which fig. 2160. is a portrait, to 

 the scale of 1 in. to 8 ft. This tree was planted where it now stands, in 

 September, 1824, when only 4 in. high; and it is now (September, 1837) 

 16 ft. high, without having, during that period, received the slightest pro- 

 tection. M. Vilmorin states, in the Bon Jardinier for 1837, that, in the 

 neighbourhood of Paris, this pine is generally grown in boxes, and taken into 



7c 2 



2158 



