chap, cxm. 1 CONl'FER-E. pi x nus. 2197 



well with this species, as described by Michaux ; and not at all with Mr. Lam- 

 bert's P. variabilis, which he describes as having leaves only 2 in. long, and 

 cones with scales having " thorny points of a strong woody texture projecting 

 from them." 



Properties and Uses. In the northern and middle states, and in Virginia, 

 Michaux tells us that, in his time, to the distance of 159 miles from the sea, nine 

 tenths of the houses were built entirely of wood ; and the floors, the casings of 

 the doors and wainscots, the sashes of the windows, &c, were all made of the 

 wood of the yellow pine, as being more solid and lasting than that of any 

 other kind of indigenous tree. 4< In the upper part of the Carolinas, where 

 the cypress (Taxodium distichum) and the white cedar (Cupre'ssus diyoides) 

 do not grow, the houses are constructed wholly of the yellow pine, and are 

 even covered with it." (Michx.) It is necessary, however, whenever the 

 wood of this tree is used for building purposes, that it should be completely 

 freed from its sap wood, which speedily decays. This precaution, Michaux 

 tells us, " is sometimes neglected, in order to procure wider boards, especially 

 near the sea-ports, where, from the constant consumption, the tree is becom- 

 ing rare. Immense quantities are used in the dockyards of New York, 

 Philadelphia, Baltimore, &c, for the decks, masts, yards, beams, and cabins 

 of vessels ; and it is considered to be next in durability to the long-leaved 

 pine (P. australis). The wood from New Jersey and Maryland is finer grained, 

 more compact, and stronger than that from the river Delaware, which grows 

 upon richer lands." (Michx.) The yellow pine, in boards from 1 in. to 

 2\ in. thick, forms a considerable article of commerce between the United 

 States, and Great Britain and the West Indies. At Liverpool, it is called the 

 New York pine, while at Jamaica it is called the yellow pine ; and, in both 

 places, it sells at a much higher price than the wood of the white pine (P. 

 tftrobus), though it is considered inferior to that of P. australis. In the 

 Minutes of Evidence taken before a select committee appointed to consider of 

 the means of maintaining and improving the foreign trade of the country, and 

 printed by order of the House of Commons, in March, 1821, John White, 

 Esq., of Westbourne Green, an extensive timber merchant, was examined. 

 In answer to the question, " Can you speak at all to the durability of different 

 kinds of wood?" he says, " In general, Norway timber is the most durable 

 of the fir timbers of Europe ; because, after many years, it does not part with 

 its resinous particles ; but I consider," he adds, " that the American soft, 

 or yellow, pine (P. mitis Michx.) is the most durable of the American firs. 

 I have known it last, when exposed to the action of the sun and weather, for 

 a long period, by the side of Norway timber, with equal effect, fully exposed 

 to wind and rain ; but, if painted, it does not stand at all so well." {Report, 

 &c, 1821, p. 23.) " Though this species," Michaux observes, "yields tur- 

 pentine and tar, their extraction demands too much labour, as this pine is 

 always mingled in the forests with other trees." This is another point in which 

 Michaux's account differs from that of Mr. Lambert ; as the latter informs 

 us that " the wood has a sponginess and lightness which deprive it of durabi- 

 lity, and render it useless in building, or, indeed, for any purposes of a 

 similar kind ; but it is tolerably full of resin, so that the Americans employ it 

 for its tar and pitch." {Lamb. Pin., ed. 2., i. t. 14.) The tree of P. mitis at 

 Dropmore (there named P. variabilis, and easily known from others having the 

 same name, by the characteristics already mentioned) was, in 1837, after being 

 41 years planted, 29 ft. high. 



Commercial Statistics. Cones, in London, are Is. per quart, and plants 5s. 

 each ; at Bollwyller, plants are 2 francs each ; and at New York, 50 cents. 



1 6. P. pu'ngens Michx. The prickly-cow^/, or Table Mountain, Pine. 



Identification. Michx. Arb., 1. p. 61. ; Pursh Fl. Amer. Sept., 2. p. 643. ; Lamb. Pin., ed. 2., 1. 1. 17. ; 



N. Du Ham., 5. p. 236. ; Lawson's Manual, p. 353., Lodd. Cat., ed. 1836. 

 Engravings. Lamb. Pin., ed. 2., 1. 1. 17. ; N. Du Ham., t. 67. f. 4. ; Michx. N. Amer. Syl., iii. t. 140. ; 



our fig. 2079., to our usual scale ; and Jigs. 2077. and 2078., of the natural size ; all from Dropmore 



specimens. 



7c 4 



