THE PINE TREE. 183 
and which ever after are destitute of leaves, and give the 
foliage a singular tufted appearance. The cones are generally 
produced in groups which point outward in a star-like form, 
whence the name pinaster or star-pine. 
In general the wood is white and soft, and fit only for the 
purposes of common deal. The greatest triumph recorded 
in connexion with the history of the pinaster is that of con- 
verting several hundred square miles of drifting sand in 
France into a thriving forest, which I detail under SEa-SIDE 
PuLantTING. These forests on the Jandes of Bordeaux, and 
between that city and Bayonne, form the principal field for 
the supply of seeds of the P. pinaster, which seldom exceeds 
2s. 6d. per lb. To nurserymen this tree is generally unpro- 
fitable. This arises partly from want of a regular demand for 
the young plants, and partly on account of their readily over- 
growing, when they must be cleared out. Therefore, grown 
to order they could be furnished at a few shillings a thousand, 
or half the usual rate. 
P. P. folis variegatis is a very ornamental tree, and is pro- 
pagated by inarching on any of the common kinds of the 
species. 
P. ponderosa (Douglas).—The heavy-wooded pine was intro- 
duced into England in 1826. It is a native of the north- 
west coast of America, and of California, and is found grow- 
ing mostly on alluvial soils. In this country it is of a very 
vigorous habit of growth; when a few years old it produces 
leading shoots often about two feet long and one inch in 
diameter. Its leaves are thickly set, and eight to ten inches 
long (produced in threes). It is quite hardy, but not likely 
ever to become a useful tree in this country, as it forms a root 
small in proportion to its top, and is easily blown over by 
the wind. 
P. Cembra (L.)—The Cembran or Siberian pine is a native of 
the Alps, of Siberia, of Switzerland, Italy, and other mountainous 
districts, where it is frequently found associated with the dwarf 
variety of the P. sylvestris. It was introduced into England more 
than a century ago by Archibald, Duke of Argyll. The tree is 
