24 



THE CUBA R E V I E W 



VALUE OF THE CUBAN PINE (Pinus heterophylla) 



ITS PHYSICAL PROPERTIES ACCORDING TO U. S. GOVERNMENT ANALYSIS 



Weight of dry wood: 46.1 pounds per 

 cubic foot. 



Specific gravity : 0.75. 



Ash : 0.26 per cent of weight of dry wood 

 (Sargent). 



Fuel value: Equal to white oak (Sar- 

 gent,). 



Breaking strength (modulus of rupture) : 

 16,400 pounds per square inch, or 102 per 

 cent of that of longleaf pine (Sargent). 



Factor stiffness (modulus of elasticity) : 

 2,243,000 pounds per square or 106 per cent 

 of that of longleaf pine (Sargent). 



Character of qualities : Very heavy, hard, 

 strong and tough ; grain fine and straight 

 compact, annual rings wide, summerwood 

 very broad, occupying fully lialf width of 

 the annual growth ; very resinous, con- 

 spicuous resin passages numerous, large ; 

 medullary rays numerous, rather promi- 

 nent ; color, rich dark orange, the sapwood 

 lighter, often nearly white, durable. 



Growth : Height, 75 to 100 feet ; diameter, 

 1V2 to 3 feet. 



It- is a Cuban and Mexican tree, and its 



geographical location suggests that it may 

 have entered the United States by way of 

 the Florida Peninsula. 



Four important timber trees of the south- 

 eastern United States are usually grouped 

 as one in the lumber market, and are sold 

 under the common name of yellow pine. 

 They are the longleaf pine, shortleaf 

 pine, loblolly pine, and Cuban pine. In 

 appearance the woods of these four trees 

 are so nearly alike that it is sometimes 

 dilficult to distinguish one from the other; 

 yet in some particulars there is considerable 

 difference. This is often seen in the 

 growth rings. Longleaf annual rings are 

 usually narrow ; shortleaf, wide near the 

 heart, followed by a zone of narrower 

 rings, while loblolly's rings are generally 

 wide. The Cuban pine also has wide 

 rings. The proportion of sapwood to heart 

 is usually different in the four species. 

 Longleaf pine over a foot in diameter, 

 breast high, rarely has sapwood over 2 or 

 3 inches broad, shortleaf sapwood in trees 

 of like size usually measures 4 inches, 



Courtesy of tin- Isle of Pines Co. 

 The Cuban Pine on the Isle of Pines 



