OF VIRGINIA 



LONGLEAF PINE 



Not much of the yellow pine lumber cut in Virginia is longleaf. 

 as the remaining stand is limited and very scattered. Only 170,000 

 feet was reported by the manufacturers as home grown, though suffi- 

 ciently large quantities of it were demanded from other States to give 

 longleaf the rank (see Table I) of third important wood used by the 

 manufacturer. Virginia marks the most northerly limits of the range. 

 Its heaviest stands are found in Louisiana and east Texas where virgin 

 forests are now being cut. It has the longest needles of any of the pines 

 which give the tree its name. Next to white pine its lumber brings 

 the highest average price of any of the conifers. 



SCRUB PINE 



The superior reproductive power of scrub pine is its most impor- 

 tant characteristic. It occurs in original growths on clay ridges some- 

 times with other yellow pine trees, and is scattered in hardwood for- 

 ests of the Piedmont and mountain regions. It readily seeds itself and 

 grows on tihe most isterile soils. On cut over areas it spi ings up rapidly, 

 with a decided increase but it reproduces best on old fields where it 

 forms thick stands. .The common names in different localities are 

 "niger" pine, Jersey pine, bastard pine, river pine and poverty pine, 

 but scrub pine is the name now most widely used. It grows more slowly 

 than loblolly pine or shortleaf pine and in dense stands, only a small 

 portion of the trees reach a size large enough for lumber. It can be 

 readily identified from other yellow pine trees. Cones remain on the 

 tree several years after they drop their seed. It has two slightly 

 twisted needles in a Sheath. Loblolly pine has three needles twice 

 as long and shortleaf pine has two and three needles to a sheath but 

 they are straight and slightly longer than scrub pine. In the wood 

 this species is more difficult to distinguish, as in appearance it often 

 resembles the loblolly and shortleaf pine. Usually its many tight knots 

 identify it. Wherever convenient the principal use of scrub pine is 

 for fuel and fence rails. When the trees reach a size large enough for 

 the sawmills the lumber is considered by builders in some localities 

 preferable for structural work like house sills to oldfield loblolly. In 

 Delaware treated scrub pine wood has been used successfully for rail- 

 road ties ; in Maryland the box makers consume large amounts ; while 

 in Virginia, next to the box industry, the excelsior manufacturers 

 consume the most. 



