PLANTS. 333 



burning pine wood in pits properly arranged. That 

 which flows first from the melted turpentine is tar ; the 

 latter, darker and thicker, is pitch, and the portion left 

 from both is subjected to a severer burning, and made 

 into lamp-black, used in the preparation of printer's 

 ink, etc. h. 



The Pine (Pinus pinea). One of the handsomest of 

 the Abictinese, reaches to a height of fifty feet, spreading 

 at the top so that its crown resembles an umbrella. Bears 

 a large, thick cone containing seeds which are eatable, 

 and taste like hazel-nuts. Native of Southern Europe, 

 and particularly of Italy, 'p . 



The Siberian Stone Pine or Yew-leaved Fir (Pinus 

 cembra). Spikes or needles three-cornered, standing in 

 in fascicles, four or five, cones erect; young twigs or 

 branches rusty red and hairy. Seeds unwinged and nut- 

 shaped, called Pine-nuts, are eatable. Found in the 

 Eastern Alps and Carpathian Mountains; wood very 

 beautifully grained and sweet smelling, is used by the 

 Alpine peasants for carving into ornamental toys, etc. % . 



Weymouth or White Pine (Pinus strobus). Leaves 

 long, fine, triangular, spiky ; strobiles (cones) cylindric- 

 oblong, nodding ; seeds long-winged. This beautiful and 

 useful tree, with its smooth, resinous bark, and regularly 

 transverse branches, is a native of North America, and 

 most valuable for the excellence of the lumber it affords 

 for building materials. Cultivated in Europe as an orna- 

 mental tree only. ^2. 



The White Larch (Pinus larix). Leaves an inch in 

 length, limber and obtuse, arranged in beautiful, pencil- 

 like tufts, fall off in winter. Branches arching and 

 bending, have a most graceful appearance. Grows mostly 

 on the mountains of Europe, but now becoming quite 



