CHAP. CXIII.

coni'fera;. pi'nus.

2257

in diameter, oftenhaving 10 in. of per-fect wood. Theconcentric circles,in a trunk fully de-veloped, are close,and at equal dis-tances ; and the re-sinous matter, whichis abundant, is moreuniformly distri-buted than in theother species. Hencethe wood is strong-er, more compact,and more durable:it is, besides, fine-grained, and sus-ceptible of a highpolish. These ad-vantages give it apreference, as atimber tree, overevery other Ameri-can pine; but itsquality is modifiedby the nature of thesoil in which itgrows. In the neigh-bourhood of the sea,

»here only a thinlayer of mould re-poses on the sand,it is more resinousthan where theWould is 4 in. or 5 in.thick; and the treeswhich grow uponthe first-mentionedsoil are called pitchPines, as if they weredistinct species. Ineertain soils, itswood contracts afeddish hue ; and itis, for that reason,

*nown in the dock-yards of the northern

states by the name of the red pine. Wood of this tint is considered theest; and, in the opinion of some shipwrights, it is more durable on the sidest vessels, and less liable to injury from worms, than the oak. In the climate°t London, P. australis is rather tender. The largest plant that we know' s nt Farnham Castle, which, in 1834, after being 35 years planted, wasbit. high. There is one at Dropmore, of which Jig. 2160. is a portrait, toe scale of ] in. to 8 It. This tree was planted where it now stands, in‘September, 1824, when only 4 in. high; and it is now (September, 1837)it. high, without having, during that period, received the slightest pro-^eetion. M. Vilmorin states, in the Bon Jardinier for 1837, that, in thee, ghbourhood of Paris , this pine is generally grown in boxes, and taken into

7 g 2