The IVhlit Pine-, 255 



owing the elegant appearance of the young trees. The male 

 aments are four or five Hnes long, united to the number of five or 

 six, and arranged like those of the loblolly and long-leaved pines: 

 they bloom in the month of May, and turn reddish before they are 

 cast: the cones are four or five inches long, ten hnes in diameter 

 in the middle, pedunculated, pendulous, somewhat arched, and 

 composed of thin, smooth scales, rounded at the base. They 

 open about the first of October, to release their seeds, of which a 

 part are left adhering to the turpentine that exudes from the scales. 

 The wood of this species is employed in greater quantities and. 

 far more diversified uses than any other American pine; yet it is 

 not without essential defects; it has little strength, gives a feeble 

 hold to nails and sometimes swells by the humidity of the atmos- 

 phere. These properties are compensated however by others 

 which give it a decided superiority; it is soft, light, free of knots, 

 and easily wrought, is more du.rable, and less liable to split when 

 exposed to the sun, furnishes boards of a great width, and timber 

 of large dimensions, in fine, it is still abundant and cheap. It is 

 observed that the influence of soil is greater upon resinous than 

 upon leafy trees. The qualities of the white pine, in particular, 

 are strikingly affected by it. In loose, deep, humid soils, it unites 

 in the highest degree all the valuable properties by which it is 

 characterized, especially hghtness and firmness of texture, so that 

 it may be smoothly cut in every direction; hence the name Pump- 

 kin Pine. On dry, elevated lands, its wood is firmer and more resi- 

 nous, with a coarser grain and more distant concentric circles, and it is 

 then called Sapling Pine. The wood of this tree is used for eve- 

 ry species of ornamental work about building, for clap boards, and 

 shingles, for looking glass and picture frames, for images in sculp- 

 ture, the inside of mahogany furniture and of trunks, in cooperage 

 and an endless variety of other purposes. It serves exclusively 

 for the masts of the numerous vessels constructed in the Northern 

 and Middle States. The principal superiority of these masts over 

 those exported to England from Riga is their lightness; but they 

 have less strength, and are said to decay more rapidly between 

 decks and at the point of intersection of the yards: this renders 

 the long-leaved pine superior to the white pine in the opinion of 

 the greater part of American ship builders. The bowsprits and 

 yards are also made of wdiite pine. The wood is not resinous 

 enough to furnish turpentine for commerce, nor would the labor of 

 extracting it be easy, since this tree occupies exclusively, tracts 

 of only a few hundred acres, and is usually mingled in different 

 proportions with the leafy tree. Sylva Americana. 



