EVERGREEN ORNAMENTAL TREES. .j'221 



cumference. In plantations, it has the valuable property to 

 recommend it, of growing on the very poorest lands. 



The Pitch Pine, (P. rigida,) is a very distinct sort, com- 

 mon in the whole of the United States east of the AUegha- 

 nies. It is very stiff and formal in its growth when young, 

 but as it approaches maturity, it becomes one of the most 

 picturesque trees of the genus. The branches, which shoot 

 out horizontally, bend downwards at the extremities, and 

 the top of the tree when old, takes a flattened shape. The 

 whole air and expression of the tree is wild and romantic, 

 and is harmonious with portions of scenery when these cha- 

 racters predominate. The leaves are collected in threes, and 

 the colour of the foliage is a dark green. The cones are py- 

 ramidal, from one to three inches long, and armed with short 

 spines. 



The bark of this kind of Pine is remarkably rough, black, 

 and furrowed even upon young trees ; and the wood is filled 

 with resinous sap, from which pitch and tar are copiously 

 supplied. The trees grow in various parts of the country, 

 both on the most meagre soils and in moist swamps, with 

 almost equal facility. In the latter situations, they are however 

 comparatively destitute of resin, but the stems often rise to 

 80 feet in elevation. 



The foregoing are the finest and most important species of 

 the north. The Red Pine, {Pinus rubra,) and the Gray 

 Pine, are species of small or secondary size, chiefly indigenous 

 to British America. The Jersey Pine, (P. inops,) is a dwarf- 

 ish species, often called the Scrub Pine, which seldom grows 

 more than 25 feet high. 



There are some splendid species, that are confined to 

 the southern states, where they grow in great luxuriance. 

 Among the most interesting of these, is the Long-leaved Pine, 

 (P. australis,) a tree of 70 feet elevation, with superb wand- 

 like foliage, borne in threes, often nearly a foot in length. 

 The cones are also seven or eight inches long, containing a 

 kernel or seed of agreeable flavour. As this tree grows as far 

 north as Norfolk in Virginia, we are strongly inclined to be- 



