6 THE WHITE PINE 



cent, of the wood in a trunk 40 inclies in diam- 

 eter breast-high is left in the forest as waste, 

 while a tree ten inches in diameter loses more 

 than two and a half times as much, under the 

 same conditions. It may also be seen that the 

 percentage of merchantable timber does not in- 

 crease after the diameter has reached 32 inches, 

 and that even at 26 inches it is within 1 per cent, 

 of its highest point. 



The length of the crown, or that part of the 

 whole stem upon which live branches are grow- 

 ing, varies according to the situation of the 

 tree. A Pine standing in the open, with plenty 

 of light and growing space, has, as a rule, a 

 very large, full crown. On the other hand, 

 when trees occur in crowded groups the spread 

 of the top is hindered, the lower branches die 

 for want of light, and the crown becomes narrow 

 and short. The average length of crown of 

 Pines over 100 years old growing in dense 

 groups varied from 15 to 35 per cent, of the 

 total length of the tree. For the same trees 

 the length of shaft clear of all branches, alive 

 or dead, was from 50 to 80 per cent, of the 

 total length. 



When trees grow in crowded groups the 

 growth in diameter is reduced, and the height 

 growth, to a certain limited extent, is increased. 

 Such trees yield a better product not only be- 



