IOO 



FLORA AND SYLVA. 



best is obtained from the broken cones in November, and, after free exposure 

 during the winter, it is on the approach of spring transferred to a place of 

 moderate warmth and repeatedly and thoroughly stirred. A way which is prac- 

 tised chiefly in the Brixen and Bozen districts is to collect the cones in heaps 

 in the forest itself, and by means of sticks beat or stir until all the seeds are 

 threshed out. These are then cleaned and spread in some airy place on the 

 ground to dry, being again thoroughly stirred for the prevention of must. If 

 the seed is to be kept in store it should not be put into sacks, but should be 

 kept — in the cone or otherwise — in some cool, airy place, where it will retain 

 its germinating quality for years. 



The roots of the Swiss Pine are very strong and spreading ; deep-rooted, 

 however, it is seldom uptorn because of the shallow, rocky nature of the ground, 

 but the roots cling to the rocks and stones all the faster for this 



Root and growth. i r i • • i 1 r 1 1 



reason, and force their way into the clefts, so that the tree 

 possesses greater stability and resisting power against the strongest storm, and 

 it seldom happens that a Swiss Pine is overthrown by force of wind. The chief 

 cause of destruction, therefore, apart from old age, is lightning. Owing to this 

 comparative immunity, the Swiss Pine at the outer edge of the mountain forest 

 serves as an excellent screen in breaking and weakening the force of the wind 

 and preventing the occurrence or lessening the range of avalanches. Although 

 on the Alps there are individual trees known to be more than 100 years old, 

 the average age of the oldest Swiss Pines is from 500 to 600 years. This 

 length of life in the Swiss Pine is the more valuable as the tree becomes more 

 limited in area, and in its native zone in the Alps the cultivation of forest trees 

 is much more difficult and costly than in the milder and lower-lying districts. 

 Owing to its slow growth the tree is not at its best- — regarded as a timber 

 tree- — until its 150th year, when it reaches its prime. In its lower zone of life 

 the Swiss Pine mixes freely with Larch and Fir and seems to flourish in associa- 

 tion with these kinds. This would seem to show that the growth of the Swiss 

 Pine under a good system of forestry, natural or artificial, though attended 

 with great difficulty no doubt for the most part, may nevertheless be well 

 done. The Swiss Pine has a well-formed and, generally, branching stem, and 

 its growth is well maintained up to its 200th year. The quality of the ground 

 it inhabits can scarcely be called good, being mostly shaly, stony, or clayey 

 soil, formed, in fact, of the detritus of primeval slate, or, as in Grodenthal, 

 of the dolomite limestone. 



The wood is in the first instance white, and, when dried and worked, yellow 

 or red-brown, very fine in grain, and proportionately compact. It is also very 

 light, resinous, flexible, and aromatic. When worked up it is 

 apt to blunt tools. It makes very good fuel, giving a steady 

 flame, and as a heat-giver can compare with the Larch. For fuel and for the 



