THE EVERGREENS 



113 



A pine forest with its fresli balsam air and needle-covered 

 floor is a sight to Ije long remembered. 



The wood of the evergreens is usually classed among 

 the soft timbers, although the yellow pine is far from soft. 



59. White Pine. The king among evergreens is usu- 

 ally admitted to be the white pine. Its soft, bluish-green 

 foliage, the widesj)reading branches, and 

 the value of its fine, even-grained wood 

 give it the first rank. 



Pines have needle-shaped leaves 

 which grow in groups of two, 

 three, or five. White pine nee- 

 dles grow in groujjs of five and 

 are from three to fom' inches 

 long. The cones which contain 

 the seeds are about five inches 

 long. The tree grows tall and 

 straight, and formerly grew in 

 great forests covering thousands 

 of square miles ; the wood is so 

 free from pitch and is so easily worked with tools that 

 these great forests have been almost annihilated by the 

 lumberman's ax, and white-pine timljer has become cjuite 

 expensive. It takes many years for a tree to grow large 

 enough for timber, and unless we are more economical in 

 the futm-e white pine will be only a memory. 



Fig. 123. Needles and Cone 

 of White Piue 



