The white pine cones, in which the seeds are borne, are conspicuous objects. They are five or six inches long and slightly curved. It will be interesting to find out whether the seeds ripen the same year in which they are formed. Perhaps a cone still containing seeds can be secured. Carefully tear it apart and see where the seeds are attached. Red squirrels sometimes eat the pine seeds. A white pine cone, which has shed its seeds, is shown in [Fig. 233].
Fig. 234. Shoot of common pitch pine. One-half natural size.
This kind of pine is found widely scattered in New England, New York, and westward to Minnesota and Iowa and along the Alleghany Mountains as far south as Georgia; also in some parts of Canada. It is a valuable lumber tree.
The Pitch Pine.
Fig. 235. Cone of pitch pine. One-half natural size.
This kind of pine is very different, in many respects, from the white pine. Let us find some of the differences. Instead of having leaves in bunches of five, it has them in clusters of three, and the base of each cluster is inclosed by a scaly sheath which does not fall away as in the case of the white pine; neither does the little scale-like body upon the branch, in the axil of which the leaf-cluster is borne, fall away, but it may be found just below the leaf, and even on branches that are several years old. Sometimes a sheath is found with only two leaves. We shall want to know, too, how old the leaves are when they fall. Do they remain on the tree longer than the white pine leaves do?
Again, instead of being soft and slender as the white pine leaves are, we shall find that these leaves are rigid and thick in comparison, and stand out straight from the branches. The shape of the leaves is also distinct from that of the white pine needles. See whether you can find any other differences.
