The pines are widely distributed over the north temperate zone, in the southern portions chiefly confined to the mountains, along which, in Central America, a few are found within the tropic; in more northern regions they frequently form extensive forests, sometimes hardly mingled with other trees. · Their soft, straight-grained, resinous, and often durable wood gives to many kinds a high economic value, and some are among the most esteemed of timber trees....
Of the two-leaved species, P. sylvestris, the pine of northern Europe, may be taken as a type. When growing in perfection it is one of the finest of the group, and perhaps the most picturesque of forest trees; attaining a height of from 70 to 120 feet, it is of conical growth when young, but in maturity acquires a spreading cedar or mushroom-like top, with a straight trunk of from 2 to 4 feet in diameter at the base, and gnarled twisted boughs, densely clothed at the extremities with glaucous green foliage, which contrasts strongly with the fiery red-brown bark. The leaves are rather short, curved, and often twisted; the male catkins, in dense cylindrical whorls, fill the air of the forest with their sulphur-like pollen in May or June, and fecundate the purple female flowers, which, at first sessile and. erect, then become recurved on a lengthening stalk; the ovate cones, about the length of the leaves, do not reach maturity until the autumn of the following year, and the seeds are seldom scattered until the third spring; the cone scales terminate in a pyramidal recurved point, well-marked in the green state and in some varieties in the mature cone, but in others scarcely projecting. P. sylvestris is found, in greater or less abundance, from the hills of Finmark and the plains of Bothnia to the mountains of Spain and even the higher forest-slopes of Etna, while in longitude its range extends from the shores of the North Sea to Kamchatka. Nowhere more abundant than in the Scandinavian peninsula, this tree is the true fir (fur, furet) of the old Norsemen, and still retains the name among their descendants in Britain, though botanically now classed as a pine. It grows vigorously in Lapland on the lower ground, and is found even at an elevation of 700 feet, while in south Norway it occurs up to 3000 feet, though the great forests from which “Norway pine” timber is chiefly derived are on the comparatively lower slopes of the south-eastern dales; in the highest situations it dwindles to a mere bush. In Germany, both on the mountains and the sandy plains, woods of “kiefer” are frequent and widely spread, while vast forests in Russia and Poland are chiefly composed of this species; in many northern habitats it is associated with the spruce and birch. In Asia it abounds in Siberia and on the mountains of Dahuria; on the European Alps it occurs at a height of 5600 feet, and on the Pyrenees it is found at still higher elevations; on the northern side of Etna it is said to grow at above 7000 feet. In Britain natural forests of Scotch fir of any extent are only now found in the Highlands, chiefly on the declivities of the Grampians, and most of the great woods have been much curtailed in recent times, while the larger trees are generally felled as soon as they attain a timber size. In former ages the tree covered a large portion of the more northern part of the island, as well as of Ireland; the numerous trunks found everywhere in the mosses and peat-bogs of the northern counties of England attest its abundance there in prehistoric times; and in the remoter post-Glacial epoch its range was probably vastly more extended. The tree is not at present indigenous in southern Britain, but when planted in suitable ground multiplies rapidly by the wind-sown seeds; on many of the sandy moors and commons natural pine woods of large extent have been thus formed during the last fifty years. The Scotch fir is a very variable tree, and certain varieties have acquired a higher reputation for the qualities of their timber than others; among those most prized by foresters is the one called the Braemar pine, the remaining fragments of the great wood in the Braemar district being chiefly composed of this kind; it is mainly distinguished by its shorter and more glaucous leaves and ovoid cones with blunt recurved spines, and especially by the early horizontal growth of its ultimately drooping boughs; of all varieties this is the most picturesque. On the Continent the Hagenau pine of Westphalia is esteemed for the straightness and good quality of its timber. The heart-wood of the finer kinds of Scotch fir is of a deep brownish-red colour, abounding in the resin to which its durability is probably due. For all indoor and most outdoor purposes it is as lasting as oak, and for ship planking is perhaps little inferior; from its lightness and elasticity it is well adapted for the construction of yachts and other small fast-sailing craft, and is said to be the best of all wood for masts and large spars; its weight varies from 30 to 40 S> the cubic foot. The sap-wood is more perishable, but is useful for fences, casks, and a variety of other purposes; soaking in lime-water renders it more lasting; great numbers of young pines are annually cut for railway sleepers, mining timber, and numerous agricultural applications; large quantities are consumed in forming the wood-pavement which in the great towns is rapidly superseding stone. The quality of the timber depends greatly on the soil and position in which the trees are grown: the dry slopes of granitic or gneissic mountains, or the deep well-drained sandy gravels of the lower country seem to answer equally well; but on clay or wet peat the tree rarely flourishes, and the timber is always indifferent; it is usually said that the wood is best in the cold climate of its more northern habitats, but the writer has seen a trunk (4 feet in diameter) grown on the sands of Surrey with heart-wood quite equal to any produced in Glen more or Rothiemurchus. The rapidity of growth is still more variable: in Britain full maturity is attained in from seventy to one hundred and twenty years, but in Norway the trunk increases much more slowly; Schübeler states that a tree felled in the Alten district (about 70° lat.), measuring 2 feet 10 inches in diameter without the bark, showed four hundred circles of annual growth. In Norway the tree, growing in dense forests, is generally of but moderate girth, and probably this pine nowhere reaches a greater size than in the Scottish woods; a plank from Glenmore forest measured nearly 5⅜ feet across, and from 3 to 4∣ feet is not an unusual diameter for a British pine tree. ,∣
Vast numbers of Scotch firs are raised in nurseries for artificial planting; the seed is sown in the spring, being just covered with earth, and the seedlings transplanted in the second year into rows for further culture, or taken direct from the seed-bed for final planting; sometimes the seed is sown where the trees are intended to grow. A plantation of Scotch fir requires frequent and careful thinning as the young trees increase in size; but pruning should be avoided as much as possible, excepting for the removal of dead wood. Plantations in England are generally ready for final cutting in from sixty to seventy years, and many are cleared at a much earlier stage of growth. P. sylvestris in Britain is liable to many insect depredations: the pine-chafer, Hylurgus piniperda, is destructive in some places, the larva of this beetle feeding on the young succulent shoots, especially in young plantations; Hylobius abietis, the fir-weevil, eats away the bark, and numerous lepidopterous larvae devour the leaves; the pine-sawfly is also injurious in some seasons; the removal of all dead branches from the trees and from the ground beneath them is recommended as most of these insects lay their eggs among the decaying bark and dead leaves. In England the pine is largely employed as a “nurse” for oak trees, its conical growth when young admirably adapting it for this purpose; its dense foliage renders it valuable as a shelter tree for protecting land from the wind; it stands the sea gales better than most conifers, but will not flourish on the shore like some other species. As fuel the wood of the Scotch fir is of value, but it makes too much black smoke to form an agreeable open fire; the small trunks and cuttings of plantations are employed by the lime-burner.
The pine is an important tree in the economy of the northern nations of Europe. In Scandinavia and Russia houses are chiefly constructed of its timber; and log-huts are made of the smaller trunks, and lined and roofed with the bark. The inner bark is twisted into ropes, and, like that of the spruce, is kiln dried, ground up, and mixed with meal in times of scarcity; in Kamchatka it is macerated in water, then pounded, and made into a kind of substitute for bread without any admixture of flour. In recent days the fibre of the leaves has been extracted in some quantity and applied to textile purposes under the name of waldwolle, both in Germany and Sweden : It is prepared by boiling the needles in a solution of soda to remove the resin, which process loosens the fibre and renders its separation easy; it has some resemblance to coarse wool, and is spun and woven into blankets and garments that are said to be warm and durable; it is also used for stuffing cushions; an essential oil, obtained by a previous distillation of the leaves, has medicinal virtues attributed to it by some German practitioners.
Large quantities of turpentine are extracted from this pine in Sweden and Russia by removing a strip of bark, terminating below in a deep notch cut in the wood, into which the turpentine runs, and from which it is scooped as it accumulates; but the product is not equal to that of the silver fir and other species. Tar is prepared largely from T t . sylvestris ; it is chiefly obtained from the roots, which, mingled with a few logs, are arranged in a conical or funnel-shaped hollow made on the steep side of a hill or bank; after filling up, the whole is covered with turf and fired at the top, when the tar exudes slowly and runs into an iron vessel placed below, from the spout of which it is conveyed into barrels. Most of the so-called Stockholm tar is thus prepared, chiefly in the province of Bothnia.
Closely allied to the Scotch pine, and perhaps to be regarded as a mere alpine form of that species, is the dwarf P. Pumilio, the “krummholz” or “knieholz” of the Germans,—a recumbent bush, generally only a few feet high, but with long zigzag stems, that root occasionally at the knee-like bends where they rest upon the ground. The foliage much resembles that of the Scotch fir, but is shorter, denser, and more rigid; the cones are smaller but similar in form. Abounding on the higher slopes of the Bavarian and Tyrolese Alps, it is a favourite shelter for the chamois; the hunters call it the “latschen,” from its recumbent straggling habit. Krummholz oil, valued in Germany as an outward application in rheumatism and for bruises and sprains, is distilled from the young branches, and a fragrant white resin that exudes in some quantity from the buds is used for similar purposes and as a perfume; under the name of Hungarian balsam it is sold in the towns of Germany, being probably obtained from the Carpathians.
The Red Pine of Canada and New England (so called from the colour of its bark), P. resinosa, is a tree of considerable size, sometimes attaining the dimensions of P. sylvestris. The somewhat glaucous leaves form dense tufts at the ends of the branches, and are 4 or 5 inches long; the ovate blunt cones are about half that length. The tree is of quick growth and the wood strong and resinous, but it is less durable than Scotch fir, though much employed in shipbuilding; according to Emerson, trunks exist in Maine 4 feet in diameter. A sandy soil seems to suit it best, and the quality of the wood probably much depends on its place of growth. Red pines abound in Nova Scotia and Newfoundland, and the tree is rather widely distributed over the northern parts of the continent; it rarely forms extensive woods, but grows chiefly in clumps among other trees, at least in its more southern habitats. Nearly allied is P. Bariksiana, the Grey or Labrador Pine, sometimes called the Scrub Pine from its dwarfish habit; it is the most northerly representative of the genus in America, and is chiefly remarkable for its much recurved and twisted cones, about 2 inches long. The trunks are too small to be of great economic value, but the light wood is used by the natives for their canoes.
P. Laricio, the Corsican Pine, is one of the noblest trees of this group, growing to a height of 100 or even 150 feet, with a straight trunk and branches in regular whorls, forming in large trees a pyramidal head; the slender leaves, of a dark green tint, are from 4 to 7 inches long; the cones, either in pairs or several together, project horizontally, and are of a light brown colour. This pine abounds in Corsica, and is found in more or less abundance in Spain, southern France, Greece, and many Mediterranean countries; it occurs on the higher mountains of Cyprus. The tree is of very rapid growth, but produces good timber, much used in southern dockyards and very durable, though less strong than that of P. sylvestris ; the heart-wood is of a brownish tint. In southern France it has been planted with success on the drift-sands of the Bay of Biscay, though it does not bear the full force of the seablast as well as the pinaster. In England it grows well in sheltered situations and well-drained soils.
The Black Pine, P. austriaca, derives its name from the extreme depth of its foliage tints,—the sharp, rigid, rather long leaves of a dark green hue giving a sombre aspect to the tree. The lightcoloured, glossy, horizontal cones are generally in pairs, but sometimes three or four together. The tree is conical when young, but when old forms a spreading head; it often attains a large size. Southern Austria and the adjacent countries are the natural habitats of this pine; it seems to flourish best on rocky mountain sides, but in England grows well on sandy soils. The timber is valued in its native country, and is said to be durable and to stand exposure to the weather well; various resinous products are extracted from it. P. pyrenaica is a handsome species of pyramidal form, attaining a large size on the mountains of northern Spain. The leaves are long and of a light bright green; the cones are solitary, oblong, conical, and of a yellow tint. The timber is used in Spanish dockyards, but opinions vary as to its quality. In plantations its bright foliage, with the orange cones and young shoots, render it an ornamental tree, hardy in southern Britain. Near to the above are P. Pallasiana or maritima, and P. halepensis, Mediterranean forms chiefly valued for their resinous products; the former, planted on the loose sands of France, supplies much turpentine and resin.
P. Pinaster, the Cluster Pine or Pinaster, is an important species from its vigorous growth in the sand-drifts of the coast, for the purpose of binding which it has been grown more extensively and successfully than any other tree, especially on the dunes of the Bay of Biscay. Growing to a height of from 40 to 70 feet, the deeply-furrowed trunk occasionally reaches a diameter of 3 feet or more at the base, where, like most sand trees, it usually curves upward gradually, a form that enables the long tap-roots to withstand better the strain of the sea gale; when once established, the tree is rarely overthrown even on the loosest sand. The branches curve upwards like the stem, with their thick covering of long dark green leaves, giving a massive rounded outline to the tree; the ovate cones are from 4 to 6 inches long, of a light shining brown hue, with thick scales terminating in a pyramidal apex; they are arranged around the branches in the radiating clusters that give name to the tree. The pinaster grows naturally on sandy soils around the Mediterranean from Spain to the Levant. On the drift-sands of France, especially in the Gironde, forests have been formed mainly of this pine; the seeds, sown at first under proper shelter and protected by a thick growth of broom sown simultaneously, vegetate rapidly in the sea-sand, and the trees thus raised have, by their wind-drifted seed, covered much of the former desert of the Landes with an evergreen wood. These forests of pinaster, apart from the production of timber in a once treeless district, have a great economic value as a source of turpentine, which is largely obtained from the trees by a process analogous to that employed in its collection from P. sylvestris ; the resin is yielded from May to the end of September, the cuts being renewed as the supply fails, until the tree is exhausted; the trunks are then felled and used in the manufacture of charcoal and lamp black; much tar and pitch is also obtained from these pinaster forests. In England the cluster-pine has been largely planted on sandy districts near the sea, and has become naturalized in Purbeck and other wild tracts in the southern counties, but the summer heat is too small to permit of its resinous products acquiring any value; the soft coarse wood, though perishable in the natural state, has been used for railway sleepers after saturation with creosote or preservative solutions. P. bruttia, the Calabrian Pine, a kindred form, is remarkable for its numerous densely clustered radiating cones; its wood is considered good in southern Italy.
P. Pinea is the Stone-Pine of Italy; its spreading rounded canopy of light green foliage, supported on a tall and often branchless trunk, forms a striking feature of the landscape in that country, as well as in some other Mediterranean lands. The beautiful reddish-brown shining cones, roundly ovate in shape, with pyramidal scale apices, have been prized from the ancient days of Rome for their edible nut-like seeds, which are still used as an article of food or dessert. They do not ripen until the fourth year, and are kept in the cone until required, as their abundant oil soon turns rancid. The tree has been naturalized in many warm countries, even in China; in England it seldom attains any large size, as the deficient summer heat prevents the wood from maturing; but trees occur occasionally in plantations 20 or 30 feet in height; the wood, though soft and deficient in the resin that gives durability to the timber of some species, is valued by the southern carpenter and cabinetmaker for its lightness, its fineness of grain, and the ease with which it is worked.
P. mitis, the Yellow Pine of the northern and middle States of America, is rather allied to the three-leaved section, but the leaves are mostly in pairs. It is a tree of large size, often attaining a height of 70 feet and upwards, though rarely more than 2 feet in diameter at the root; the lower branches spread horizontally, the upper, converging towards the trunk, givè the tree somewhat the aspect of a spruce, hence it is called in some districts the “sprucepine.” The leaves are long, slender, and...
