WHITE-PINE BLISTER RUST IN WESTERN EUROPE. yi 
tion into England in 1705 and later into other European countries 
that the tree became prominent abroad. From the beginning its 
distinct and ornamental beauty interested foreigners (Pls. I and IT). 
Gold and silver medals were offered for plantations of Weymouth 
pine in England by the Society for the Encouragement of Arts in 
1765 (17). This tree is now well known abroad and is one of the most 
widely distributed of introduced American species. Unfortunately 
in several countries Cronartium ribicola has taken such heavy toll 
that some foresters are wary of planting it, while others have abso- 
lutely discontinued its cultivation. 
White pine although widely distributed is not the commercially 
important forest tree in Europe that it is in America, for it is not a 
native species. The total area which it occupies is negligible in com- 
parison with the forested areas of European countries. The ease 
with which the wood can be worked and its varied uses for joinery, 
pattern making, matches, and in shipbuilding for masts, yards, and 
deals brought imported white pine into much demand abroad. Ac- 
cording to Laslatt, timber inspector of the British navy, when ships 
were built of wood “white pme served well for masts and bow- 
sprits,” but he says it was not strong enough for hght spars subject 
to great and sudden strain. For such requirements it was surpassed 
in strength and durability by Oregon fir (25, p. 356-366). 
To-day in Europe it is difficult to obtain white pine free from 
knots and sapwood. . In England the value of the best quality is 
advanced to 6s. ($1.50) per cubic foot. During the war the timber 
controller fixed the maximum price at 9s. 8d. per cubic foot, or 
approximately $389.75 per thousand board feet (20). 
Standing white pine has brought equally high prices. <A 70-year- 
old plantation cut in Surrey during the war yielded a clear profit of 
$340 per acre. In the Vosges region of France 60-year-old planta- 
tions on optimum sites have yielded 68,590 board feet per acre, with 
a stumpage value of $44.53 per thousand board feet. Other planta- 
tions near Epinal in the French Vosges at the age of 55 years have 
produced a volume of 42,900 board feet per acre (fig. 1). In Ger- 
many, pure stands 104 years old yielded 81,538 board feet per acre, 
while stands 68 years of age produced 61,560 board feet per acre (44). 
In volume production and rapidity of growth white pine ranks 
high. In the Vosges of France at 60 years it has shown a mean an- 
nual growth of 190 cubic feet per acre, a figure which has been 
equaled in Belgium. At Oxford, England, at 12 years the yield was 
181 cubic feet per acre. It was outclassed in mean annual volume 
production by Douglas fir (Pseudotsuga taxifolia) from Vancouver, 
western hemlock (7Z'suga heterophylla), western red cedar (Thuja 
plicata), and Sitka spruce (Picea sitchensis). The diameter growth 
of white pine, however, was good. Trees 12 years old with 3.2 inches 
average diameter at breast height were exceeded only by Vancouver 
Douglas fir with an average diameter of 3.4 inches (38). 
A recent Belgian publication (76, p. 14) states that the only merit 
of white pine from its viewpoint is its large volume production 
and that its reputation as a tree with a future in Belgium has been 
overestimated. Bommer and Visart, on the other hand, credited 
white pine with being the one pine which up to the present has been 
cultivated successfully on the high plateau of the Ardennes (6). In 
