Scots pine

“ I have remarked above that a mature Scots pine has no rival in beauty in the genus, and indeed the charming outline, blue-green foliage, ruddy branches and roseate grey trunk of a well-grown Scot of 150 years' growth can admit no superior in comeliness ”

“ In favourable soil, at a moderate elevation, the Scots Pine is a fine tree a hundred feet high, with a rough-barked trunk, whose girth is twelve feet. Under such conditions it develops a strong tap-root, which goes deep; but where the soil is shallow or otherwise unfavourable the tap-root is not developed. At great elevations the upward growth is checked early, and it becomes [Pg 82] a mere evergreen bush. The branches are short and spreading, those on the lower portions of the trunk dying early, so that the tree soon gets that gaunt weather-beaten look that is so characteristic of it. ”

“ The Norway spruce, as shown by remains in pre-glacial [164] deposits in Norfolk, once flourished in our land; but it has never recovered a footing there since the severance of Britain from the Continent.
No tree shows a greater difference than Scots pine in the quality of its timber at different stages of growth. Unlike larch, which yields useful and durable wood from a very early age, Scots pine is very soft and perishable until the tree approaches eighty years old. It is true that young deals and posts may be rendered serviceable by boiling in creosote ”

“ Although the wood produced by the Scots Pine in this country is not considered of the highest quality, the species is certainly [Pg 84] of equal value as a timber-producer with any other tree. Owing to our mild winters and long periods of seasonal growth, the Pine-wood produced in Britain is coarse-grained and not very durable. In the colder parts of Northern Europe, where summers are short and the long winters are severe, the texture of the timber is more solid and the grain closer. ”

“ Except the birch, the Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris) is more widely distributed over northern Europe than any other species of tree, and it shows more indifference than any other to variations of climate. While in Eastern Siberia it sustains without flinching a temperature of 40° below zero (Fahr.) , it thrives in Southern Spain under a summer heat of 95°. It seems as much at home in the sun-baked region of Southern France as it is in the perennially humid atmosphere and cool soil of Western Scotland and Ireland. ”

“ In addition to the timber, other valuable substances known to commerce are products of the Scots Pine—pitch and tar, resin and turpentine, for example. The Pine is an accommodating tree, for though it likes a deep soil in which to strike its tap-root, it will grow upon rocky ground, where the roots have to become horizontal and near the surface ”

“ A forest tree which develops so slowly is not likely to find much favour with British foresters; and the fact that this pine grows faster in our islands than on its native mountains certainly does not lead one to expect a high quality of timber. I have, however, cut poles of Corsican pine thirty years old to support the galvanised roof of a hayshed. They averaged 8 inches in diameter at 5 feet from the ground, and were undoubtedly larger and finer than Scots pine of the same age growing among them, which I should never dream of using for such a purpose ”

“ In the peat-beds of Scotland even up to 3000 feet above sea-level the stumps of pines occur in abundance, and in many places recent researches have revealed the occurrence of successive forests of pines, oaks, and spruces separated from one another by the accumulations of swampy vegetation (9) . The spruce fir has long ceased to be a member of the British flora, but in a few localities in the Scottish Highlands patches of primeval pine forests remain. ”

“ In the million acre Black Hills Reserve of South Dakota, the easternmost of the great forest reserves, made for the sake of the farmers and miners, there are delightful, reviving sauntering-grounds in open parks of yellow pine, planted well apart, allowing plenty of sunshine to warm the ground. This tree is one of the most variable and most widely distributed of American pines. It grows sturdily on all kinds of soil and rocks, and, protected by a mail of thick bark, defies frost and fire and disease alike, daring every danger in firm, calm beauty and strength. ”

“ Soil and location: Will do best on a deep, rich, sandy soil, but will also grow on a dry, porous soil.
Enemies: In Europe the Scotch pine has several insect enemies, but in America it appears to be free from injury.
Value for planting: Suitable for windbreaks and woodland planting. Many excellent specimens may also be found in our parks.
Commercial value: In the United States, the wood is chiefly used for fuel, though slightly used for barrels, boxes, and carpentry. In Europe, the Scotch pine is an important timber tree. ”

“ And it is worthy of remark, he added, that some one species of the oak and of the pine, those two most useful trees, are to be found in every climate of the earth, excepting in the immediate polar regions. The woods of northern Russia, of Norway, and Sweden, consist, with little variation, of the pine tribe. The Scotch fir retains its dense foliage during the long winter, and affords shelter to the wild animals of the forest; and the greater the intensity of cold, the firmer and more dense the timber becomes in texture. ”

“ A favourite- 29 - food is supplied by the Scotch pine; though in hot weather larch, silver fir, and spruce are added in liberal quantities to the dietary. While he rejoices in hazel-nuts, beech-mast, acorns, and spruce-seeds, he is sometimes tempted by berries, walnuts, and apples. He eats freely off buds and young shoots, and peels the bark off trees—digging a spiral course with his teeth near the top of the tree, so that the first strong gale blows over the tree-top. It is the sweet stuff between bark and tree, rather than the bark itself, that attracts his fancy. ”

“ They look like hairy giants, for their scales do not end in two little teeth, but in a long point which turns back and bends downwards.
The silver fir does not like quite such cold places as the spruce and the Scotch pine; it dwells lower down the mountain sides, and is at home in Central Europe.
[Pg 125] All the pines and firs, like the Scotch pine, have those wonderful pipes and reservoirs of sticky turpentine juice inside their bark, but each kind of fir has its own way of making its stores, and so we get different kinds of resin and turpentine and balsams from different trees. ”

“ It is heavy and very strong. It makes fine lumber, ties, fuel, fencing and furniture. It is used in shipbuilding and for other things when a durable wood is needed. It is rich in turpentine, resin and tar. Indeed, the markets of Europe are supplied with those articles largely by the Scotch pine and those of the United States, chiefly by the Georgia pine. Because of the length of the southern pine’s needles, which sometimes measure more than a foot, it is sometimes called the long-leaved pine. The leaves grow in threes. Its large cone also contains seeds, which are eaten. ”

“ The White Pine is not so easily broken by heavy snowfall as the Scotch Pine, on account of the greater elasticity of its wood. The great abundance of soft needles falling from it every year better fits it for improving a worn-out soil than any European Pine, therefore the tree has been tried with success as a nurse for the ground in forest plantations of Oak, when the latter begin to be thinned out by nature, and grass is growing underneath them. ”

“ Many varieties of the red, yellow, and pitch pine, intermingled with the graceful larch, the picturesque beech and maple, birch, elm, oak, and numerous other tribes of forest timber, grow down close to the water’s side, spreading in stately grandeur over the broad plains, or stretching proudly up to the summits of the mountains that descend precipitously to the river. In summer the bright and cheerful green of the forests is exceedingly beautiful and refreshing to the eye, the dark pines alone forming a sombre contrast to the vivid freshness of the deciduous trees ”

“ In the pine forests of the Alps the prevailing species are the common spruce and the silver fir; on siliceous soil the larch flourishes, and surpasses every other European species in height. The Scottish pine is chiefly found at a lower level and rarely forms forests. The Siberian fir is found scattered at intervals throughout the Alps but is not common. The mughus, creeping pine, or Krummholz of the Germans, is common in the Eastern Alps, and sometimes forms on the higher mountains a distinct zone above the level of its congeners. ”

“ And finally, all observations agree that the White Pine is a faster growing tree than any native Conifer in Europe, except, perhaps, the Larch. The exact facts about that point, taken from investigations on good soil in various parts of Germany, are as follows:
For comparison I add here the average growth on good soil, of the Scotch Pine, one of the most valuable and widely distributed timber trees of Europe. ”

“ And when these superb arms are outspread, radiating in every direction, an immense crownlike mass is formed which, poised on the noble shaft and filled with sunshine, is one of the grandest forest objects conceivable. But though so wild and unconventional when full-grown, the sugar pine is a remarkably regular tree in youth, a strict follower of coniferous fashions, slim, erect, tapering, symmetrical, every branch in place. At the age of fifty or sixty years this shy, fashionable form begins to give way. ”

“ A good deal has been expected of the Scotch pine, and it has been somewhat extensively imported for the purpose of planting. In Europe it has a great reputation for the durability of its wood, and for its rapid growth on poor soils and in exposed situations. But time is seeming to prove that this tree is not well adapted to our country. It grows well for a while, and has a promising appearance while young; but, after attaining an age of from twelve to twenty years, it is apt to fail, dying off suddenly, to the great disappointment of the planter. ”

“ Scotch Pine is the principal timber, and occurs beyond the Arctic Circle—the northernmost forest in the world—where its rotation becomes 150 to 200 years, with Norway Spruce more or less localized, these two species forming 75 per cent. of the forest growth; oak, ash, basswood and elm occurring sporadically, and White Birch being ubiquitous. ”

“ With this plant the whole world would seem rich though none other existed. It is not easy to keep on with the camp cloud while such plant people are standing preaching by the wayside.
During the afternoon we passed a fine meadow bounded by stately pines, mostly the arrowy yellow pine, with here and there a noble sugar pine, its feathery arms outspread above the spires of its companion species in marked contrast; a glorious tree, its cones fifteen to twenty inches long, swinging like tassels at the ends of the branches with superb ornamental effect. ”

“ These are the young trees of the long-leaved or Southern yellow pine. How beautiful they are, these narrow leaves of vivid green, more than a foot long, drooping gracefully from the center outward, with none of the stiffness of our Northern species! In some places they seem to fairly bubble in green from all the surface of the ground, so close are they. And the grand long-leaved pine itself, maintained in lusty vigor above these greeneries, is a tree of simple dignity, emphasized strongly when seen at its best either in the uncut forest, or in a planted avenue. ”

“ In about two years, it becomes necessary to shred the branches of the pines, to give light and air to the oaks, and in about two or three more years to begin gradually to remove the pines altogether, taking out a certain number each year, so that, at the end of twenty or twenty-five years, not a single Scotch pine shall be left ”

“ The pine race, however, being clump-headed, unite well in composition. With these also the Scotch fir leagues, from little knots of which we often see beautiful contrasts arise. When they are young and luxuriant, especially if any number of them above four or five are planted together, they generally form a heavy murky spot, but as they acquire age this heaviness goes off, the inner branches decay, the outer [027] branches hang loosely and negligently, and the whole has frequently a good effect, unless they have been planted too closely. ”

“ Sandy moors and heaths, desolate stretches of barren chalk, are planted with the hardy sylvan pine, and shortly become things of use and beauty in themselves, no less than happy influences on the local climate. The pine gives deal and resin, and grows in any soil. Clays too stiff and damp for corn or turnip will rear the glorious and profitable oak; the steepest flanks and scaurs of the fell-side are sufficient for the beech; the elm and the ash spring in small spinnies on almost any sterile field, and their leaves afford a delicious food for cattle, a crop as regular and as nourishing as hay. ”

“ We of the North are helping to ruin the next generation of Southern pines by lavish use, for decorations, of the young trees of about two feet high, crowded with the long drooping emerald needles. The little cut-off pine lasts a week or two, in a parlor—it took four or five years to grow! ”