324 



The Pines. 



covers large areas as 

 the only tree, and it 

 is mixed in places 

 with the sugar and 

 other pines. It grows 

 to magnificent dimen- 

 sions, and thrives 

 upon arid mountain 

 slopes, and to an 

 elevation of 11,000 

 feet, or quite up to 

 the " timber-line." 

 It is found fr;)m 5 to 

 8 feet, and even 12 

 feet in diameter, and 

 from 200 to 250 feet 

 high, in favored lo- 

 calities. The leaves 

 of this species are of 

 a dark yellowish 

 green, differing in 

 this from the deep 

 blue-green of the su- 

 gar pine, and the light 

 blue-green of Sabine's pine, vvith which it is often associated. The bark 

 is of a light red, but yellowish brown within, and divided into large 

 plates, four, six, or eight inches in breadth, and flat and smooth, 

 affording a characteristic appearance to the trunk of the tree at a 

 considerable distance. 



1319. The timber of the yellow pine is heavy and highly resinous, 

 but is not as strong as in some other conifers. In recent years it 

 has been used in immense quantities for railroad ties, and it is also 

 much used for mining timbers. The grain is often twisted, and 

 sometimes into the closest spiral. 



1320. In general habit it most resembles the pitch pine (P. rigida) 

 of the Atlantic States, but it grows immensely larger, the bark is 

 smoother, and the wood less resinous. The latter quality appears 

 to depend upon the soil and exposure, and differs considerably in 

 different places. 



157. Cone, Scales, and Lestves ot the Pinus ponder- 

 osa, of two-tnirds the Natural Size. 



