CONE-BEARERS. 31 



cones curving and pointing toward the apex of the 

 branch, like little horns (the only instance in the family 

 of pines). Leaves in pairs, very short. 



Sub-SCO. 2. FracticoncB. 

 BROKEN-CONE LUMBER PINES- 



Cones breaking away at maturity from the short 

 stem by an irregular, transverse fracture within the 

 base. They are of medium size, ovate-conical, 4 to 8 

 inches long, and half as broad at base ; leaves in 3's, 

 5 to 8 inches long. Large trees, with thick, deeply- 

 fissured bark, and yellowish wood of strong fiber. 

 Widely distributed at middle altitudes, from British 

 Columbia southward along the mountain ranges to 

 Mexico, and eastward to the Rocky Mountains and 

 Black Hills. Very valuable timber trees. 



Many thousands of square miles in the vicinity of 

 Truckee, Madera, and Mt. Shasta have been denuded of 

 their forest covering, mostly composed of these two spe- 

 cies, while much of the intervening region is more or less 

 stripped, inviting the forest fire and the mountain tor- 

 rent, while menacing with drought the now fertile plains 

 below. Happily, under favoring circumstances, many 

 regions are being re-forested with a dense growth, 

 notably on the eastern slope of the Sierra, where the 

 first clearings were made. 



The Broken-Cone Pines form two groups: 



