GYMNOSPERMS 219 
important to learn how to obtain white pine with the least 
possible waste, for the usual methods will soon destroy all 
of our supply. 
The pine forests of the South, pioletiags in increasing 
amount the very valuable timber of the hard wood yellow 
pines, are very extensive. Chief among these yellow pines 
is the Georgia pine, being the principal species over an 
area fifty to one hundred and fifty miles wide and extend- 
ing along the coast region from North Carolina to eastern 
Texas. This great Southern pine region is producing more 
and more timber as the supply from the Northern white 
pine is diminishing. 
The coniferous forests mentioned above belong to the 
general Atlantic region, which extends from the Atlantic 
Coast to the Mississippi Valley; but there is a Pacific region 
extending from the Rocky Mountains to the Pacific Coast, 
all of whose immense forests are conifers. These Western 
forests are mainly in the mountains, and have been most 
wastefully treated in cutting for timber, clearing, and per- 
mitting the ravages of fire. Two famous coniferous trees of 
California are the redwood and the big tree. The former 
yields a very valuable lumber, and the latter is the largest 
American tree. The big trees are found in scattered groves 
along the western slopes of the Sierra Nevada, a number of 
which are carefully preserved. The height of the standing 
trees reaches 325 feet, but a fallen tree is estimated to have 
been over 400 feet high. The diameter of the trunk near 
the ground sometimes reaches 30 to 35 feet. 
129. Resin and turpentine.—The conifers in general 
contain resins, and from certain pines the common resin 
(or rosin) and turpentine of commerce are obtained. Usu- 
ally incisions are made into the wood of the trees and a resi- 
nous liquid exudes, which is crude turpentine. This liquid 
is distilled, the oil or spirit of turpentine coming off and 
being collected, and the resin remaining behind in the still. 
