The Pines 



and fungous injuries. Lumber used in heavy construction; for 

 bridges, piles, docks, buildings, masts and spars. 



The red pine is the only American member of a group of Old- 

 World pines of which P. sylvesiris, the Scotch pine of Europe, is 

 a familiar example. The paired leaves and red bark are signs of 

 kinship. Both are common in cultivation in America, and we 

 shall distinguish the native tree by its longer leaf and the heavy 

 tufting of its twigs; the short leaves of P. sylvesiris are thinly 

 and evenly scattered along its branches. 



An early Spanish explorer erroneously described this tree as 

 identical with the variety of the Scotch pine that grows in 

 Norway. In this way it came by its second name. 



There is a lustiness and symmetry of growth and an expres- 

 sion of hardiness and health in the red pine which makes the 

 other pitch pines look ragged and discouraged, and the graceful 

 white pines delicate and unequal to the struggle of life. No 

 handsomer pine than this one is found in the Northeastern 

 States. 



The wood of red pine is not what we might expect from 

 such a tree. Rich in resin and fine grained, yet its durability is 

 not to be depended upon. Its height gave masts and spars of 

 great size and free of blemishes. It was once shipped in quan- 

 tities to England out of the Canadian woods to be used at the 

 dockyards, and for piles and bridge timbers. Of late years 

 better pine has been substituted. Turpentine and tar are not 

 derived from this tree, despite its name, resinosa, "full of resin." 

 Less pitchy than P. rigida, soft like P. Sirobtis, the wood seems 

 intermediate between the two. 



The living tree is more valuable than its log; when the lum- 

 berman scoffs at the red pine the landscape gardener takes it up. 

 It grows on exposed and sterile coasts, where it rapidly forms 

 effective windbreaks and beautiful groves. It adds a distinct type 

 of beauty to parks and private grounds. Its hardiness and ra- 

 pidity of growth commend it to the colder states. Not the least 

 of its good points in the home grounds is that its two leaves in 

 their close, deep sheaths furnish children exactly the right ma- 

 terial for chains, the making of which is one of the most absorb- 

 ing pleasures of childhood. 



The Prickle-Cone Pine {P. muricata, D. Don.) is a 

 handsome round-topped evergreen, covered with dense tufts of 



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