Democratic messenger. [volume] (Snow Hill, Md.) 1869-1973, 1919-08-02
LOBL0LLY PINE ON
THE EASTERN SHORE


Like all highly developed members
of the vegetable kingdom. the pine
starts from seed. The big. prickly.
scaled burrs. or more properly cones
which are scattered profuscly through
out the crown Of the tree after il
reaches the age Of 2O-25 years. give
protection to the seeds during the two
growing seasons which it takes for
them to mature. During the late fall
of the second year. these cones change
from green to brown-,hc scales open
and the seeds come falling out. They
are about ! of an inch long. oval in
shape and q very dark brown in color.
Mature has equipped each one with a
wing. broader and twice rs long as
the seed itself and %. a. they fall.
they are caught up. even by the light
est breeze and borne fa from the
parent tree. This explains why young
pines may be found coming up thick
ly when the nearest seed trees MA.
w WV uhtfliii stl'lN 'lNst. anu btNi-
sional seedlings may be found n far
away as 200 yards. \ few trees very
favorably located a. to light and
moisture may develop cones each year,
but the heavy seed trees generally
come from 3-5 year intervals This
means that ii the trees were noticed
hA IN,
of l9l9-you will find now in July
little cones about one to two inches
long. they won't grow much more
this year, but by the fall of 1920 they
will be fully developed. and in the
spring of 1921, if conditions are favor
able, q heavy reproduction Of pine
would certainly be- expected There
would probably not be heavy crop
from the same trees again until say
1925. The reason for this lies in the
fact that il requires a great deal of
the trees strength to produce seed,
growing in dense stands as the pine
generally does it takes it that many,
years to store up sufficient food to
produce the seed.
Since il is now one group of trees
that is having its seed year. and next
year another group. there is almost an
annual shower of seeds over Il given
area OF say one hundred acres. The
question may then very naturally be-
asked why is there not an abundance
of young pines coming up annually
around these trees and one has only
TO recall Christ'S wonderful parable
of the Sewer and his seed to find the
answer. 1t will be- remembered that
some of the seed fell among thorns
and the thorns sprang up and choked
1t. and some fell where il could not
take root. II is the same way with
the pine seed. If il falls among gum
and maple seedlings. the big leaves of
the hardwoods shut out all the light
and it can not grow. II il falls
among dense layer of pine needles.
such rs will be found under a pine
thickct if not removed by man it can
not grow either for the needles make
thick covering to the ground through
which the seeds can not penetrate. and
in which they find no moisture TO start
the process of termination. But when
the seeds fall on mineral soil. exposed
to sunlight a. for instance an aban
doned cornfcld. then the pine comes
into its own. Just to show what il
can do in the way Of reproduction.
once laid Off plot in Wicomico Coun-
ty near Salisbury, in five year old
thicket of pine and found that this
plot averaged over 10000 trees to the
acre This then is the first point to
remember in causing pine to follow
pinc-you must have an exposed min
eral soil for the seeds to fall in, if
you expect nature to start your thick
ct for you.