1 142 The Trees of Great Britain and Ireland 



and had made an increase in girth of 6 in. above the place where it was 

 girdled Mr A. Knechtel, at that time forester to the New York Forest, Fish, 

 and Game Commission, found this tree close to the road from Paul Smith's to 

 M'Colloms' in the Adirondack mountains, and gave the dimensions as follows :— 

 Height, 30 ft. ; diameter of girdled part, 5 ft. 3 in. ; ditto, just below the girdle, 

 6 ft. 4 in. ; ditto, just above, 8 ft. 3 in. Mr. Knechtel writes me on May 10, 1909, 

 that the tree was still alive when he last saw it in October 1908, and explains the 

 fact as follows :— " The plant food ascends the tree through its interior ; the 

 elaborated material descends between wood and bark. Since there is no bark 

 at the girdle, it does not cross it. Hence the tree grows above the girdle and not 

 below it." 



Cultivation 



It was introduced' by Hugh, Duke of Northumberland, as long ago as 1756; 

 but it seems unable to live long or to attain timber size in any part of this country. 

 Lambert says that in 1804 he found it in a flourishing state at Pains Hill, at Caen 

 Wood (in a small island), and at Syon, where the first trees were planted, yet from 

 their size he concluded that it would not produce valuable timber. At White Knights 

 a number of trees were planted by the Marquess of Blandford about the end of the 

 eighteenth century, raised by Loddiges from seeds received from America, and some 

 of them existed in Loudon's time. But at these places none are now living ; and the 

 only trees we have seen are two specimens at Bayfordbury, planted in 1851, one of 

 which is 54 ft. high and 5 ft. 3 in. in girth, and the other 50 ft. by 3 ft. 10 in. ; 

 two trees at Dropmore, 68 ft. by 4 ft. 5 in., and 62 ft. by 4 ft. 3 in. in 1909 ; and 

 one or two small trees at Kew. In my nursery at Colesborne small imported 

 trees closely resemble the Austrian pine, but are far less vigorous in growth, and 

 have been gradually dying ever since I had them. 



Timber 



The timber of this tree was at one time imported to a considerable extent, and 

 according to Laslett was then known as red pine, and when straight and clean enough 

 for masts was considered superior to the Riga and Dantzic pines for that purpose. 



Macoun says that it is neither so tall nor so large as the white pine {P. Strobus), 

 and that though the wood is much harder, stronger, more elastic and resinous, is 

 often not separated in commerce from the wood^ of that species. It is valuable for 

 piles, masts, and spars, and though formerly worth more than white pine, is not 

 nearly so abundant in Canada. 



Mr. Weale writes as follows : — " Canadian red pine {Pinus resinosa) is produced 

 in Canada generally, but not largely imported into this country owing to the com- 

 petition of the Baltic Pinus sylvestris. It is harder and not so easily worked as 

 yellow pine {Pinus Strobus), and not so hard as pitch pine {Pinus palustris). For 



1 Alton, Hurt. Kew. iii. 367 (1789). 



" Dr. H. T. Bovey, in Tram. Roy. Soc. Canada, xii. 3, p. 11 (1894), gives the results of tests on the comparative 

 strength of red pine, white pine, and Douglas fir. 



