The Trees of Wyoming. 73 



1. PINES. 



(Pinus.) 



" Ancient pines, 



Ye bear no record of the years of man, 



Spring is your sole historian." Bayard Taylor. 



The term pine is by most people applied very loosely. 

 People, ordinarily well informed upon other subjects, ut- 

 terly fail to discriminate between the most widely differ- 

 ent cone-bearing trees. To most they are all simply 

 4 ' beautiful pine trees," whether they are Pines, Spruces, 

 Firs, or more widely divergent forms. Even Junipers are 

 sometimes included in this convenient term. To separ- 

 ate them is so simple a matter that our attention need be 

 called to only a very few facts to enable us all to call a 

 pine a pine, and a spruce a spruce, the moment that we 

 see them. That both of them belong to the Pine Family 

 need not mislead us, for it is common practice to use in 

 the name of a family of plants^the name of the principal 

 genus in that family. A family may have many genera 

 with well marked characters. 



How TO KNOW PINES.* Leaves in bundles of two 

 to five (see illustrations); cones rather large and heavy, 

 scales tough and woody; seeds borne on the base of the 

 scales. 



Three species occur, as follows: 



*Those who have occasion to use this Bulletin will please note that all statements and de- 

 scriptions have reference to Wyoming trees. No effort has been made to discriminate except 

 between our own species. The aim, ready reference, is best attained by few words. Full char- 

 acterizations would hide the species in a mass of botanical terms. 



