The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1902-04-01
Nature Study.
AMONG Il PINES.

Every tree has a distinct oharao-
ter of it's own, SO that when you
look at a tree, from it's general ap-
pearance you say, "That is a maple;
or that is a pine"
When you look more closely you
will discover that this ability TO
recognize q tree az sight is due TO
the leaves and their arrangement on
the branches. This is especially true
of the evergreen trees. Evergreens
are so named because they always
appear TO be covered with leaves.
But for the soft carpet of pine
needles under your feet, you would
think that the evergreens never shed
their leaves. We know that their
leaves surely fall; but who Of us
have YER seen them fall? The fall
ing of the leaves of the oak and
maple is q familiar sight. Not so
with the pine and other evergreens.
If you look closely you will discover
that towards the end of the branches
are most leaves, while the interior
part of the branch is quite bare,
yet leaf are there which show
that they ono bore leaves.
A closer look at the leaves of some
Of the common evergreens will be
interesting.
The pine is the oommonest ever
green of this section, but of pines
there are many varieties growing
side by side. When the leaves are
borne in clusters of fUe you may
know that it is
THE WHITE PINE.
The leaves are soft and very slen-
der, from three TO four inches long.
Examine a pine twig and and try to
determine the age of the leaves. The
last growth will be found at the end
of the twig these leaves are one
one year old. Trace back from the
end, try TO locate the growth of the
previous year by the "joint" mark
ings. The leaves on this part of the
twig are two years old. Continue
the examination you will possibly
find some leaves on the previous
years growth. On the part of the
twig produced four seasons ago you
will probably find no leaves. The
different growths on the evergreens
are not so plainly marked as on the
oaks and naples but a whorl of
branches about the limb usually
marks the seasons growth.
The white pine cones, in which the
seeds are borne are conspicuous.
They are five or six inches long and
somewhat curved. Examine a cone,
find out where the seeds are at
taohed. Do the seeds ripen the same
year that the con is formedP Collect
some zones and notice how they re-
tain their seeds and how they shed
their seeds.
THE PITCH PIN
is different from the white pine in
many ways. It's leaves are in olus-
ters of threes. At the base of the
leaf cluster is a scaly sheath which
remains after the leaf has fallen,
while in the white pine it soon dis
appears. The leaves of the pitch
pine are larger and quite stiff in
comparison with the white pine,
and they extend straight out from
the branches. The cones of the
pitch pine, too, are very unlike those
of the white pine. They III O6OUOid
shape and are often borne in
clusters OF two or more and some
times remain on the tree for several
years after the seeds have ripened
and scattered.
The white pine is a valuable lum-
Der tree while the pitch pine does
not grow large enough TO be of use
timber, but has another g which
it. a valuable product in this
State.
THE SHORT LEAF PINE
has dark green slender leaves from
three to five inches long with the
leaf clusters commonly arranged in
twos, rarely in threes. The tree
may be easily recognized by it's
long straight trunk with a broad
oval crown of foliage. The bark is
of a brownish red. The cones of this
tree are quite different from other
pines. They are rarely two inches
long and are covered with short
The shortl leaf pine grows in
the upland regins of this State and