Pine wood

“ As for landscape beauty, it would be difficult to imagine a fairer woodland scene than is composed by this company of aged pines. They do not stand so close now as to prevent one "seeing the wood for the trees"; the sun rays penetrate freely among the stately stems, which have that peculiar bloom of pearly rose that distinguishes the bark of old Scots pine. Aloft, the light flashes on the brighter hue of ruddy boughs supporting the massive foliage; below, the undulating ground, steep and rocky in places, is clothed with bilberry, fern, and other lowly growth. ”

“ Spruce, fir, pine, and others all come under the family name. You will always see a pine tree grow straight up, unless some obstacle turns aside its natural tendency. The pine wood is composed of cells that are filled with piney sap. It is a long-lived tree, there being on record pine trees that are 2,000 years old—a report says some pines in the Holy Land have been found that register an age of 3,000 years. ”

“ And there is no sound in Nature quite so wonderful as that faint spiritual singing of pine trees, that gentle whirring of a forest when soft airs are moving—that säuseln, susurrement, whispering. Midway in the wood, of course, a pine forest shouting in a free wind is simply the sea shouting on a sandy shore; close the eyes, and it is impossible to tell the difference; it is tumbling surf, mellowed by distance, tossing, instead of spray, the flying odours of their needles’ frankincense. ”

“ The handsomest of our pitch pines is the red pine, whose dark green leaves are six inches long, and cluster in twos upon the twigs. The bark, the wood, and the bud scales are all red. The cones are from one to three inches long, with thickened scales which have no spines. The tree grows into a broad pyramid, branched to the ground, with stout twigs, and luxuriant foliage. The symmetry and vigour of growth makes this red pine a handsomer tree than the ragged, discouraged-looking pitch pines. It is well for the landscape that its wood is very disappointing. ”

“ It is thrilling business to bring those giant Pines down. The ground trembles under the stroke, while the reverberating echo of its fall, as it rings through mountains and valleys, may, on a still morning, be heard six or eight miles. Before felling the Pine, small trees are cut for bed-pieces, the Pine-tree falling across them transversely, to prevent it from becoming too deeply imbedded in the snow. ”

“ Author.—The pine is certainly the prevailing tree, but it is by no means the only one. Birches, alders, and hazels are common, and oaks of immense size, some of them three or four feet in diameter for a great way up the stem, are dug up in various parts of these moors, and many of them in situations where it is now matter of astonishment that such monarchs of the wood could have been produced; for they are found high on the hills yonder above Dulsie, as well as in the mosses far up the courses of the rivers Dorback and Divie. ”

“ When you cut down an oak wood, a pine wood will not at once spring up there unless there are, or have been, quite recently, seed-bearing pines near enough for the seeds to be blown from them. But, adjacent to a forest of pines, if you prevent other crops from growing there, you will surely have an extension of your pine forest, provided the soil is suitable. ”

“ A pine which has grown under those conditions possesses a tall, straight stem, admirably fitted for masts and spars, and, at the same time, its wood is almost wholly free from knots, is regular in annular structure, soft and uniform in texture, and, consequently, superior to almost all other timber for joinery. If, while a large pine is spared, the broad-leaved or other smaller trees around it are felled, the swaying of the tree from the action of the wind mechanically produces separations between the layers of annual growth, and greatly diminishes the value of the timber. ”

“ The white pine, growing in the fields, or in open glades in the woods, is totally different from the true forest-tree, both in general aspect and in quality of wood. Its stem is much shorter, its top less tapering, its foliage denser and more inclined to gather into tufts, its branches more numerous and of larger diameter, its wood shows much more distinctly the divisions of annual growth, is of coarser grain, harder and more difficult to work into mitre-joints. ”

“ The best known wood of the United States has never been burdened with a multitude of names, as many minor species have. It is commonly known as white pine in every region where it grows, and in many where the living tree is never seen, except when planted for ornament. The light color of the wood suggests the name. The bark and the foliage are of somber hue, though not as dark as hemlock and many of the pines. ”

“ Wood is translucent, a thin disk of pine permitting light to pass through quite freely. This translucency affects the luster and brightness of lumber.
When lumber is attacked by fungi, it becomes more opaque, loses its brightness, and in practice is designated "dead," in distinction to "live" or bright timber. Exposure to air darkens all wood; direct sunlight and occasional moistening hasten this change, and cause it to penetrate deeper. Prolonged immersion has the same effect, pine wood becoming a dark gray, while oak changes to a blackish brown. ”

“ The shade of a dense pine wood, is more unfavorable to the springing up of pines of the same species than of oaks within it, though the former may come up abundantly when the pines are cut, if there chance to be sound seed in the ground. ”

“ The longleaf pine (Pinus palustris) is distinctly the most important of its group. The wood is ideal for heavy constructions. Beams, docks, trestles, and frames of cars are formed of it. The trees afford the greater bulk of turpentine, tar, and resin, or "naval stores," produced in this country. [74] Cuban, shortleaf, and loblolly pine woods (P. heterophylla, P. echinata, and P. tæda) are nearly similar. Longleaf and Cuban pines are seldom separated, while shortleaf and loblolly pines are also mixed. Longleaf pine usually affords finer structure and more heartwood than Cuban pine. ”

“ As I have said, I suspect that I can throw some light on the fact, that when hereabouts a dense pine wood is cut down, oaks and other hard woods may at once take its place. I have got only to show that the acorns and nuts, provided they are grown in the neighborhood, are regularly planted in such woods; for I assert that if an oak-tree has not grown within ten miles, and man has not carried acorns thither, then an oak wood will not spring up at once, when a pine wood is cut down. ”

“ The bravest species go out into the desert. Almost as brave are those which survive the smoke and dust of cities like Pittsburg and St. Louis, though theirs is a losing fight with sulphurous fumes and cramped root space in the smoky town. As shelter belts, as wind-breaks, as shade and ornamental trees, there are pines in cultivation in all parts of the country, their winter usefulness and beauty making them universally the choice of home-makers, rich and poor.
By-products of pine wood are chiefly turpentine, pitch, resin, and oil, derived from the resinous sap. ”

“ Their woods are now the principal ones in carpentry and construction, and are more used than any others. They are to the soft woods what the oaks are to the hard woods, and they stand at present with reference to all woods much as iron does to all metals. Pine is prized because of a combination of strength, elasticity, light weight, working qualities, and availability, such as fits it for those constructions requiring the largest quantities of wood. ”

“ The heavier the wood, the darker, stronger and harder it is, and the more it shrinks and checks. Pine is used more extensively than any other kind of wood. It is the principal wood in common carpentry, as well as in all heavy construction, bridges, trestles, etc. ”

“ In this neighborhood, where oaks and pines are about equally dispersed, if you look through the thickest pine wood, even the seemingly unmixed pitch-pine ones, you will commonly detect many little oaks, birches, and other hard woods, sprung from seeds carried into the thicket by squirrels and other animals, and also blown thither, but which are over-shadowed and choked by the pines. The denser the evergreen wood, the more likely it is to be well planted with these seeds, because the planters incline to resort with their forage to the closest covert. ”

“ The wood of the evergreens is usually classed among the soft timbers, although the yellow pine is far from soft.
59. White Pine. The king among evergreens is usually admitted to be the white pine. Its soft, bluish-green foliage, the widespreading branches, and the value of its fine, even-grained wood give it the first rank.
Fig. 123. Needles and Cone of White Pine
Pines have needle-shaped leaves which grow in groups of two, three, or five. ”

“ The species of Pine, on a twig of which you see a pair these birds, is the White Pine (Pinus Strobus) , a tree of great beauty, of which individuals have been observed of the enormous height of 180 feet, with a diameter at the base of from six to eight feet. The trunk is branchless for two-thirds of its height, and affords the most valuable wood perhaps of any tree in the United States. ”

“ The Best Woods.—The prime wood, and the one with which most boys are familiar, is white pine. It has an even texture throughout, is generally straight grained, and is soft and easily worked. White pine is a wood requiring a very sharp tool. It is, therefore, the best material for the beginner, as it will at the outset teach him the important lesson of keeping the tools in a good, sharp condition. ”

“ Then we have besides the Weymouth pine, which is the tallest species in America—the silver fir, so called from the silvery hue of its foliage—the pinaster—and a tree of ancient fame, the cedar of Lebanon.
Geo. I suppose that is a very great tree?
Tut. It grows to a large size, but is slow in coming to its full growth.
Geo. Are pines and firs very useful trees?
Tut. Perhaps the most so of any. By much the greatest part of the wood at present used among us comes from them.
Har. What—more than from the oak? ”

“ Being formed in the forepart of the season, the inner, light-colored part is termed spring-wood, the outer, darker-portioned being the summer-wood of the ring. Since the latter is very heavy and firm it determines to a very large extent the weight and strength of the wood, and as its darker color influences the shade of color of the entire piece of wood, this color effect becomes a valuable aid in distinguishing heavy and strong from light and soft pine wood. ”

“ White pine needles grow in groups of five and are from three to four inches long. The cones which contain the seeds are about five inches long. The tree grows tall and straight, and formerly grew in great forests covering thousands of square miles; the wood is so free from pitch and is so easily worked with tools that these great forests have been almost annihilated by the lumberman’s ax, and white-pine timber has become quite expensive. It takes many years for a tree to grow large enough for timber, and unless we are more economical in the future white pine will be only a memory. ”

“ Structure explains why oak is heavier, stronger, and tougher than pine; why it is harder to saw and plane, and why it is so much more difficult to season without injury. From its less porous structure alone it is evident that a piece of young and thrifty oak is stronger than the porous wood of an old or stunted tree, or that a Georgia or long-leaf pine excels white pine in weight and strength.
Keeping especially in mind the arrangement and direction of the fibres of wood, it is clear at once why knots and "cross-grain" interfere with the strength of timber. ”

“ Hard pine differs from soft pine in that it is hard, resinous, heavy, harder to work, and very strong. It also is obtainable in large pieces. The orange-yellow wood is more or less figured. The annual deposits are pronounced and are separated into two sharply divided rings. The supply is chiefly derived from the longleaf, shortleaf, Cuban, and loblolly pines of the South Atlantic States. ”

“ The average width of rings in well-grown, old white pine will vary from one-twelfth to one-eighteenth inch, while in the slower growing long-leaf pine it may be one twenty-fifth to one-thirtieth of an inch. The same layer of wood is widest near the stump in very thrifty young trees, especially if grown in the open park; but in old forest trees the same year's growth is wider at the upper part of the tree, being narrowest near the stump, and often also near the very tip of the stem. Generally the rings are widest near the center, growing narrower toward the bark. ”

“ Summer wood, as we have seen, is much harder than spring wood, hence it is important in using such wood as yellow pine on floors to use comb-grain boards, so as to present the softer spring wood in as narrow surfaces as possible. ”

“ The size, number, and position of the branches, the shape of the trunk, the toughness of the wood in the sapling, and the softness of that of the pumpkin Pine, all indicate a specific and essential difference. We have seen whole groves of saplings on low, swampy land. The same number of saplings are generally much sounder than an equal number of soft Pine. ”

“ Thirty-nine of the seventy known species of pine are found in the United States. These with their woods are separated into two groups known as hard and soft pines. The Dantzic or Northern pine (Pinus silvestris) is the principal European species. [p131]
FOOTNOTE
[72] The roots of most species die with cutting of trees. There is no power of producing new shoots. (The pitch pine (Pinus rigida) is an exception to this rule.) Seeds also have short-lived vitality. Trees are easily raised from fresh seeds. ”