Pines and Their Kindred 213 



There Is a slender little pine, growing high on 

 the mountain precipices of the West, which bears 

 tightly sealed cones. Its scales are hard as ivory, 

 and they remain for years firmly plastered down 

 with resin. Behind these scales are light seeds 

 fitted for flight with inch-long wings. 



These wings remain idle till fire sweeps up the 

 mountain slopes. Then the heat melts the resin 

 which has sealed the cone, the winged seeds take 

 flight, and the wind sows them broadcast over the 

 bare and blackened mountains. 



All our native gymnosperms except the cypress 

 and the larch are evergreen, but their leaves are 

 not. 



One by one they fade and fall, till the ground 

 in evergreen woods is covered with a thick mat of 

 dropped needles. In the course of a few years 

 all the needle leaves will be shed. The old leaves, 

 getting ready to fall, turn brown, a few at a time, 

 unnoticed by us among their green companions. 



All the gymnosperms except the yews have a 

 plentiful supply of sweet-smelling gum or balsam. 

 This gum is a mixture of resin and turpentine. 



Little glands containing It are found in the scale 

 leaves of the arbor vitas, and the balsam fir of 

 which fragrant pillows are made has two little 

 wells of it in each of the needle leaves (Fig. 60). 



In the spruce there is so much fragrant gum that 

 blisters filled with it appear behind the bark. 

 Often these blisters cover hollow places left by the 



