12 THE FOREST FLORA AND CONDITIONS OF 



vading fire this young stock has gradually advanced. 

 Solid phalanxes of saplings and middle-sized trees now 

 form a large part of the second-growth woodlands at- 

 tached to farms, together with oaks and other hard 

 woods. There appears, therefore, to be no more useful 

 concomitant in the future forestry of East Tennessee 

 than this willingly self-propagated short-leaf pine. No 

 one has ever planted it as a forest-tree, and when it be- 

 comes necessary for the farmers of this region to apply 

 forestry art to the maintenance of various timber trees 

 the problem will be easy for this pine, which is the one 

 that should receive attention. 



The next most common, but much less valuable, of 

 the pitch pines is the Virginia scrub pine (Pinus virgin- 

 iana), which ranges from southern New York to Georgia 

 and westward to Middle Tennessee, where it is rather 

 rare. In the eastern section the Virginia pine is, how- 

 ever, very abundant on all poor, dry knolls and other 

 similar soils, and often associated with the red cedar 

 and short-leaf pine. It is a small or middle-sized tree of 

 no importance commercially, its best use being for a 

 poor quality of fire-wood. Like the short-leaf, but to a 

 much greater degree, the Virginia pine is eminently a 

 tree for barren soils, defying its worst natural enemies, 

 fire and grazing stock, and quickly clothing poor, sandy, 

 gravelly, or rocky wastes and washed lands. 



The Northern pitch pine (Pinus rigida) is abundant 

 and prominent as one of the pines making up a large part 

 of the coniferous growth which covers many of the 

 mountain slopes. The short-leaf and Virginia pine to- 

 gether often occupy the foot-hills and basal areas of the 

 mountains, while higher up the pitch pine (Pinus rigida) 

 forms conspicuously large areas; or, where the soil is 

 richer and better adapted to hard woods, the pitch pine is 

 seen in broad, vertical, peninsularlike strips several 

 miles away, appearing like deep shadows on the moun- 

 tain-sides. The trees are usually rather small in diame- 

 ter and short-trunked, not often being cut for timber. 



A close associate of the pitch pine in its highest verti- 



