32 
THE NATIVE TBEES OF RHODE ISLAND. 
Cone-Beabing Tbees. 
r- 
Cone-bearing trees, generally speaking, are not a large part of 
Rhode Island woods. But there are areas, in various localities, 
almost wholly composed of them. Hard-wood, deciduous trees 
appear to have got possession of most of the ground, and to have 
held it to the present time. The white pines, of lumber size, are 
rarely seen in this region, but vigorous sapling growths scattered 
about show how well the tree thrives. Any dry ground, even if 
mere sand, will grow the white pine. Fine plantations of this 
species are now growing in what were shifting sands of Cape Cod, 
Massachusetts. There are hundreds of acres in Rhode Island, 
now yielding little or nothing of value, which should be growing 
a crop of white pines. Thirty years would produce a stand of 
sufficient size for box-boards and the like. The first expense of 
buying and setting seedlings is small, and after that they take 
care of themselves. Whether in forests, or standing alone, the 
white pine is a fine tree. There is nothing coarse or unsymmetri- 
cal in its aspect. It adds much to our winter scenery, and no 
arboreal walk in summer time is more agreeable than a ramble 
among the pines. 
The pitch-pine is often seen in this State, and occupies ground 
that would yield more profit if the white pine took its place. This 
tree takes possession of open, sterile lots, from the fact that the 
young seedlings need no protection from the sun, which is not 
true of white pine seedlings in the first two or three years’ growth. 
The “needles,” or leaves, are so resinous that cattle will not clip 
them ; so they grow even in pasture lots. With us this tree is 
hardly to be recommended, either for fuel, timber, or for ornament. 
The hemlock is one of the trees which has crept in from the 
north to occupy cool spots, mostly by the side of streams of water. 
The commercial value of the tree, its logs for boards, its bark for 
tanning, does not much concern the wood-growers of this State. 
But it is the most graceful and ornamental of our native ever- 
greens. Its fine, spray-like branches, lively green, and almost 
