NORWAY PINE IN THE LAKE STATES. 7 



year are favorable, notwithstanding the fact that the tree is a 

 meager seed bearer. Reproduction on the average cut-over tract 

 is usually very deficient because of fire and excessive cutting. Aspen, 

 paper birch, and jack pine usually crowd out the white and Norway 

 pine. On most cut-over lands there are few Norway pine seed trees, 

 so that reseeding will take centuries unless assisted by artificial 

 reforestation. 



SUSCEPTIBILITY TO INJURY. 



Freedom from ordinary injuries constitutes the strongest recom- 

 mendation in favor of Norway pine for forest management. This 

 quality might adapt the tree to turpentining, though the short grow- 

 ing season would be a decided drawback. 



Mature Norway pine may be charred at the butt by an ordinary 

 ground fire, especially the uphill side of the tree where there is an 

 accumulation of needles, but the burn is seldom followed by decay. 

 Careful observations in northern Minnesota x indicate that young 

 Norway pine seedlings resist fire better than either white or jack pine. 



OTHER DAMAGE. 



Norway has few serious enemies. In the seedling stage it seems 

 to suffer no more from damping off than do other conifers, though 

 the tender roots are occasionally attached by a grub as yet unidenti- 

 fied. It is rarely frost killed, but in the forest a prolonged drought 

 may seriously decrease the seed crop. In the sapling and pole stage 

 it is practically free from windfall and fungi. Mature Norway pines, 

 when growing on well-drained soil, are rarely defective. The strong 

 lateral root system makes the tree windfirm, though if isolated when 

 overmature it may blow down. 



THE WOOD. 2 



APPEARANCE AND STRUCTURE. 



The wood of Norway pine is redder in color, in most cases slightly 

 heavier, and invariably more resinous than that of other northeastern 

 commercial conifers. However, before seasoning, the softer grades, 

 cut from trees of rapid growth, are scarcely distinguishable from those 

 of white pine. After thorough seasoning this similarity is less 

 marked, because Norway pine is generally darker and more resinous. 



The better quality Norway pine wood is soft, light, moderately 

 strong and tough, fine, and straight grained. It is easy to work, but 

 is not durable in contact with the soil. The best grades are cut from 

 trees of rapid growth, on low, moist, rich soil, and exhibit very 



1 "Report on the Jack Pine Barrens of Northern Minnesota," by J. P. Wentling. 



2 Prepared by C D. Mell, assistant dendrologist, and W. D. Brush, scientific assistant, Forest Service*. 



