I 
P I N 
The thirteenth fort grows naturally in moft parts of 
North America, where it is called the white Fine. It 
is one of the talleft trees of all the fpecies, otten 
growing a hundred feet high in thole countries, as I 
have been credibly informed •, the bark of this tree is 
very fmooth and delicate, efpecially when young ; 
the leaves are long and (lender, five growing out of 
each fneath ; the branches are pretty clofely garnifhed 
with them, fo make a fine appearance ; the cones are 
long, (lender, and very loofe, opening with the firft 
warmth of the fpring, fo that if they are not gathered 
in winter, the fcales open and let out the feeds. The 
wood of this fort is efteemed for making rnafts for 
fhips it is in England titled Lord Weymouth’s, or 
New England Pine. As the wood of this tree was ge- 
nerally thought of great fervice to the navy, there was- 
a law made in the ninth year of Queen Anne for the 
prefervation of the trees, and to encourage their growth 
in America ; and it is within forty years paft thele 
trees began to be propagated in England in any 
plenty, though there were feme large trees of this 
fort growing in two or three places long before, par- 
ticularly at Lord Weymouth’s, and Sir Wyndham 
Knatchbull’s in Kent •, and it has been chiefly from the 
feeds of the latter, that the much greater number of 
thefe trees now in England have been raifed for al- 
though there has annually been fome of the feeds 
brought from America, yet thefe have been few in 
comparifon to the produce of the trees in Kent ; and 
many of the trees which have been raifed from the 
feeds of thofe trees, now produce plenty of good feeds, 
particularly thofe in the gardens of his late Grace the 
Duke of Argyle at Whitton, which annually pro- 
duce large quantities of cones, which his Grace did 
mod; generoufly diftribute to all the curious. 
This fort and the Scotch Pine, are the beft worth cul- 
tivating of all the kinds for the fake of their wood ; 
the others may be planted for variety in parks, &c. 
where they make a good appearance in winter, when 
other trees are deftitute of leaves. 
All the forts of Pines are propagated by feeds, which 
are produced in hard woody cones ; the way to get 
out their feeds is to lay the cones before a gentle fire, 
which will caufe the cells to open, and then the feeds 
may be eafily taken out. If the cones are kept entire, 
the feeds v/ill remain good for fome years ; fo that the 
fureft way to preferve them, is to let them remain in 
the cones until the time for fowing the feeds ; if the 
cones are kept in a warm place in fummer, they will 
open, and emit the feeds ; but if they are not expofed 
to much heat, they will remain entire fome years, 
efpecially thofe which are clofe and compadt ; and the 
feeds which have been taken out of Cones of (even 
years old, have grown very well, fo that thefe may be 
tranfported to any diftance, provided the cones are 
well ripened and properly put up. 
The bed time for fowing the feeds of Pines is about 
the end of March, and when the feeds are fown, the 
place {hould be covered with nets to keep off birds, 
otherwife, when the plants begin to appear with the 
hufk of the feed on their tops, the birds will pick off 
the heads of the plants and deftroy them. 
"Where the quantity of feeds to be fown is not great, 
it will be a good way to fow them either in boxes or 
pots, filled with light loamy earth, which may be re- 
moved from one fituation to another, according to the 
feafcn of the year ; but if there is a large quantity of 
the feeds, fo as to require a good fpace to receive 
them, they (hould be fown on an Eaft or North-eaft 
border, where they may be fereened from the fun, 
whofe heat is very injurious to thefe plants at their 
firft appearance above ground. Thofe feeds which 
are fown in pots, or boxes, (hould alfo be placed in a 
lhady fituation, but not under trees ^ and if they are 
fereened from the fun with mats at the time when 
the plants firft come up, it will be a good method to 
preferve them. 
Moil of the forts will come up in about fix or feven 
weeks after they are fown, but the feeds of the Stone 
or cultivated Pine, and two or three of the others, 
P I N 
whofe (hells are very hard, frequently lie in the ground 
a whole year j fo that when the plants do not come up 
the firft year, the ground (liould not be difturbed, but 
kept clean from weeds, and the following fpring the 
plants will rife. This frequently happens in dry fea- 
fons, and when they are fown in places a little too 
much expofed to the fun. Therefore the fureft me- 
thod is, to foak the feeds in water twenty-four hours 
before they are fown. 
When the plants appear, they mu ft be conftantly kept' 
clean from weeds ; and in .very dry feafons, if they 
are now and then gently refrelhed with water, it will 
forward their growth j but this muft be done with 
great care and caution, for if they are haftily watered, 
it will wadi the tender plants out of the ground, or 
lay them clown flat, which often rots their (hanks ; and 
when this is too often repeated, it will have the fame 
(died' ; fo that unlefs it is judicioufty performed, it will 
be the beft way to give them none, but only fereea 
them from the fun. 
If the plants come up too clofe, it will be a good me- 
thod to thin them gently about the beginning of July, 
The plants which are drawn up may then be planted 
on other beds which (hould be prepared ready to re- 
ceive them, for they (hould be immediately planted 
as they are drawn up, becaufe their tender roots are 
foon dried and (poked at this feafon of the year. This 
work (hould be done (if poftible) in cloudy or rainy 1 
weather, and then the plants will draw out with bet- 
ter 'roots, and will foon put out new fibres again ; but 
if the weather fhould prove clear and dry, the plants 
(hould be (haded every day from the fun with mats, 
and now and then gently refrefhed with water. In 
drawing up the plants, there. (hould be great care taken 
not to difturb the roots of the plants left remaining in 
the feed-beds, &c. fo that if the ground be hard, the 
beds (liould be well watered fome time before the 
plants are thinned, to foften and loofen the earth ; 
and if after the plants are drawn out, the beds are 
again gently watered to fettle the earth to the roots of 
the remaining plants, it will be of great fervice to 
them, but it muft be done with great care, fo as not 
to wafh out their roots, or lay down the plants. The 
diftance which (hould be allowed thefe plants in the 
new beds, is four or five inches row from row, and 
three inches in the rows. 
In thefe beds the plants may remain till the fpring 
twelve months after, by which time they will be fit 
to tranfplant where they are to remain for good* for 
the younger the plants are v/hen planted out, the bet- 
ter they will fucceed ^ for although fome forts will 
bear tranfplanting.at a much greater age, yet young 
plants planted at the fame time will in a few years 
overtake the large ones, and foon outftrip them in 
their growth ; and there is an advantage in planting 
young, by faving the expence of flaking, and much 
watering, which large plants require. I have feveral 
times feen plantations of feveral forts of Pines, which 
were made of plants fix or feven feet high, and at the 
fame time others of one foot high planted between 
them, which in ten years were better trees than the 
old ones, and much more vigorous in thqir growth ^ 
but if the ground where they are defigned to remain 
cannot be prepared by the time before-mentioned, the 
plants fhouid be planted out of the beds into a nurfery^ 
where they may remain two years, but not longer ; for 
it will be very hazardous removing thefe trees at a 
greater age. 
The beft feafon to tranfplant all the forts of Pines 
is about the latter end of March or the beginning of 
April, juft before they begin to (hoot j for although the 
Scotch Pine, and fome of the moft hardy forts, may 
be tranfplanted in winter, efpecially when they are 
giowing in ftrong land, where they may be taken 
with balls of earth to their roots ^ yet this is what I 
would not advife for common pradice, having fre- 
quently (een it attended with bad confequences, but 
thofe which are removed in the fpring rarely fail. 
Where thefe trees are planted in expofed fttuations, 
they (hould be put pretty clofe together, that they may 
10 L . flicker 
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