146 THE PINES. 



while in the Sierra Nevadas they cover thousands of acres at an ele- 

 vation of 8,000 to 10,000 feet. It is very easily recognized. Its leaves 

 are short and in twos. That is a character in our mountains that is 

 conclusive. The bark is very thin, brown, with a chrome yellow 

 veining. It Is easily wounded so as to bleed and gum up. This, 

 and the thin bark, make It an especial mark for the fire demon. It 

 suffers more from fire than any forest tree we have. The leaves are 

 of a strong, dark green. Altogether, it is a handsome tree. Cones 

 small (one and one-half to two and one-half inches^ and seeds small. 



The last of our mountain pines is the pinyon (P. monophylla). 

 This Is a generally short branching pine, justly celebrated for its ex- 

 cellent edible pine nuts. Its foliage is of an agreeable bluish color, 

 not cold and forlorn like ine foot-hill pines. Nor is it so bright and 

 handsome as the sugar pine coloring. This pine has a wide range 

 along the eastern base of the Sierras and over into Nevada and Ari- 

 zona. There are many handsome specimens about Bear valley in the 

 San Bernardino range and also along on the east side of the Sierras 

 in smaller form; a few are found scattered on the west side. There 

 is one on the summit of Mt. Lowe. The pinyon can always be recog- 

 nized from the fact that it is the only pine in the world with but a 

 single leaf to the sheath. 



While the Monterey pine is not found in any of our forest re- 

 serves, but is confined to a small district about Monterey, and with 

 a variety on the island of Guadaloupe, it has been more planted than 

 any other native tree of California, except the Monterey cypress. From 

 this reason we should give this pine some attention. Its foliage is 

 in fascicles with three leaves each, a bright green, and is very dense. 

 The cone, when mature, is ovate-conical, oblique at the base, three 

 to five inches long, tubercles at base outside large; prickles small de- 

 ciduous. Seeds pale, strongly reticulated with brown; wings an inch 

 long, beautifully veined with reddish brown. Bark thick fissured, 

 very hard, black without, bright red on inner face (Lemmon). A 

 variety with two leaves exists on tne island of Guadaloupe, and else- 

 where. The attention given- to this tree in mild climates is due to 

 the remarkable rapidity of its growth. It is the fastest growing pine 

 known. It is from this cause called in foreign countries the "Re- 

 markable Pine." The Monterey pine is suited in California to dis- 

 tricts near the sea, or subject to sea influence. In these places it 

 is hardy and long lived, and grows well in light sandy soils. In the 

 interior, however, where the air is dry and the climate warmer and 



