perfection the extensive territory comprehended between the forty-second and forty-fifth degree of north
latitude. Within this space lie large portions of the provinces of New York, New England, Nova
Scotia, and Canada. The principal woods are on the shores of Fundy Bay and of Casco Bay (in Nova
Scotia) on the eastern side of Massachuset Bay; on the shores of the rivers Piskatoqua and Merrimach
(in New Hampshire) and of the Connecticut, and Mohawk; and from the extreme northern side of the
river St. Lawrence towards Montreal and the shores of the Lake Champlain. In the more southerly
parts of North America, this species appears hut sparingly (as Wangenheim informs us) and never in
continued forests; a proof that a cold, rough climate suits it best. The soil in which this Pine is found,
is said to he of the best kind, being a clay mixed with sand and other earths; it is light and moist,
preserving these qualities to the depth of some feet.
The rallies, the crevices of the mountains, and banks of rivers are the conservatories, as it were, to
which the rains and melted snows in the spring carry down the fattest parts of the soil of the higher
lands. In these spots, which are sometimes pretty elevated, the natural plantations of P. Strobus are
seen growing to a height and thickness, not exceeded by any other of the tribe; indeed, few come near
to it in these particulars. It is certain that among the full-grown trees, on the best ground, there are
some two hundred feet in height, and four or five in diameter at the lower end of the trunk. Wangenheim
tells us that he was convinced of the truth of this statement when he was in the dock-yards
ot Plymouth. “ We saw, ’ says he, “ two masts for seventy-four gun ships which measured in the
whole piece one hundred and eight fret in length, and a roller that was every where three feet in
diameter. Such a tree must have been two hundred feet long, and five feet or more in diameter.”
(Beyt. p. The growth of this tree, as we are informed by the same intelligent author, is very
uniform m its native forests wherever it is surrounded with others. It naturally prunes itself, the
branches falling off of their own accord. When the young tree stands free, and exposed on open spots,
the branches are very extensive, and the planks cut from such have no knots. But when several
are growing close together they attain their full size in sixty years, whereas the same height in P. Picea
usually requires one hundred years. Under these circumstances, in advanced years P. Strobus has a very
small top, in proportion to its height and thickness, composed of long twigs, which do not break under
the pressure ot the heaviest snow, a pressure that would otherwise greatly impede the growth of the
tree. 1 he bark, at first, is pretty smooth and of a dark grey colour, but in old trees it becomes somewhat
brown and abundantly impregnated with a whitish resin, which has a very agreeable odour. The
wood is of a yellowish white colour, of a tolerable hardness, very fine, almost resembling the white
cedar, and works straight, smooth, and shining. It contains many volatile resinous particles, which
contribute greatly to its preservation. The leaves are almost three inches long, and grow five in a
sheath. They are of a bright green colour, triangular, and very finely serrated. The flowers appear
at the end of April. The cones are from six to eight inches long, and nearly one inch in diameter.
Every one of them has a short fruit-stalk, and two or three generally shoot round the same branch.
Before the cones open, the scales lie loosely upon one another. The latter are round, smooth, and,
when ripe, of a brownish copper colour; at a distance they assume a whitish cast occasioned by thé
sun melting a kind of turpentine which oozes from the unripe scales, and makes them clammy. The
seeds have uniform wings, and are glued, as it were, to the scales by the resinous exudation. When
the seed flies out, the wings are generally broken by the wind, so that it is not usually carried far from
the tree. It ripens towards the end of August, and, if there happen to be hot days about the middle
of September, it will be shaken out.
When there is an intention to rear considerable plantations of P. Strobus, good seed should be carefully
chosen, and a soil prepared neither too rich nor heavy, and mixed with sand. As to transplanting,
every able nurseryman will allow that it impedes the natural growth; he will have remarked
also that plants set at a distance from one another grow more to twigs, prune themselves later, and
therefore in an equal number of years, rise to less height than if they had been planted close together.
Experience shews that the English climate is suited to the growth of this tree; the situation however is
a matter of much importance; cold and mountainous spots are certainly the most desirable, and yet
they should be such as are protected against violent tempests; for instance, crevices and recesses of
mountains, for when too much exposed it is very liable to be injured by the cold winds. The soil in
which the seed is to be sown in the spring, should be turned up, and, if possible, the clods broken
shortly before the preceding winter. The end of March, or the beginning of April, seems to be the
proper period for sowing, and the seed should not be covered over. I f sown in the Autumn, it will
be necessary to turn up the ground immediately before. With respect to cutting, this should take
place when the trees have acquired their full height and strength, and the spots which are cleared may
be sown with seed of home produce. Besides furnishing timber for all sorts of masts and yards, and
for a considerable part of the hull of a ship, as far as planking is required, this pine is of the greatest
use to the common carpenter, who can turn almost every part of it to account. The North American
has discovered its value, though hitherto but little skilled in forest botany, and studiously preserves the
young trees from the depredations of cattle. The wood lasts as long above ground as that of any
known species of Pinus, but in building under ground, for door thresholds, and for the hulls of ships,
it should be used only in cases of necessity, as its duration in such situations is rather short, and there
are other woods better adapted to such purposes. It yields a very fine resin from which good turpentine
may be prepared. The earliest propagation of P. Strobus in this country was at Lord Weymouth’s
(from whom it had its name) in Wiltshire, and at Sir Wyndham Knatchbull’s in Kent. Most of the
seeds, afterwards sown, were procured from these places, so that our island may be said to have been
stocked from them. Although none of the Pines (except the Larch tribe) are deciduous, yet the
position of the leaves becomes very different in Winter, from what they are in Summer; in the latter
they are much more divaricated, in the former they become nearly parallel to the stem. (Folia
adpressa, et folia divaricata.) In no species of Pine is it more exemplified than in this.
EXPLANATION OF TAB. 22.
A, A. Unripe male Catkin with an unopened Anthera.
B, B. Ripe male Catkin, and Anthera which has shed its pollen.
C , C. Crest.
d, D. Female Catkin.
E. Scales of the same.
F. Upper Scale separate.
G. Under Scale.
h. Ripe Cone.
i, i. Scales of the same.
k. Seed with its wing.
l. Seed stripped of its wing.
Leaves.
s
in.