In that part of Europe which lies above the 55th degree of latitude are found immense forests of resinous trees, in general composed entirely of this species; below this parallel the leafy trees begin to mingle with them, and soon exclude them from the forests. In the centre of Europe the Wild Pine abounds only in the coldest and most elevated situations, such as the Pyrenees, the Tyrolean, Swiss, and Vosgian Mountains. Scotland, it is so common as to leave no doubt of its being indigenous to that kingdom, though some authors believe it to have come originally from the continent.

In

This tree arrives at perfection only in the North of Europe, where it is more than eighty feet high and four or five feet in diameter. The full-grown trunk is covered with a thick and deeply-furrowed bark; the leaves are in pairs, of a pale green, stiff, twisted, and about three inches long; the flowers are of a yellowish tint, and the cones are grayish, of a middling thickness, and a little shorter than the leaves. Each scale is surmounted by a retorted spine: the seeds are small, black, and garnished with a reddish wing; they ripen the second year.

The great elevation of the Wild Pine, its uniform diameter, and the excellent quality of its wood, resulting from a just proportion of resinous fluid, render it peculiarly proper for the masts of large ships, and for an infinite variety of secondary uses. A considerable exportation takes place from the North of Europe, especially from Riga, Memel, and Dantzic, to the maritime states, particularly to England, where, according to Sir A. B. Lambert, it is known by the name of Red Deal, and in London by that of Yellow Deal. In Poland and Russia, the houses in the country are generally constructed of it. This species furnishes four-fifths of the tar consumed in the dockyards of Europe, which is imported from Archangel, Riga, and other ports of Russia and Norway.

In the North of Europe, great ravages are committed in the forests composed of the Wild Pine and Norway Spruce Fir by

WILD PINE OR SCOTCH FIR.

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several insects, of which the most destructive is the Bostrichus piniperada. This little animal introduces itself into the cellular tissues of the bark, and succeeds in dividing it from the trunk. The separation of the bark prevents the circulation of the sap, and hence results the inevitable death of the tree. It is impossible to oppose an effectual resistance to this 'winged enemy; but I have been informed by a Polish gentleman that its progress is sometimes arrested by felling all the trees, for the space of fifty yards in breadth, between the part of the forest which it already occupies and that which it threatens to assail.

The faculty which I have ascribed to the Wild Pine of growing in climates, soils, and exposures extremely different, is of inestimable value, and its cultivation has been successfully attempted on lands abandoned during ages of hopeless sterility. Plantations may be formed from the seed, or with young stocks from the nursery: of all the Pines, this species bears transplanting with the least injury. It is seen flourishing on sandy wastes exposed to the saline vapors of the sea, and, which is more remarkable, on calcareous lands, a large tract of which, in the Department of the Marne, called la Champagne pouilleuse, has begun within forty years to be covered with it, after lying desert from time immemorial. The proprietors who first conceived this fortunate plan have already seen their barren grounds. acquire a tenfold value. The oldest plantations yield seeds, which are disseminated by the winds and spring up spontaneously. After the first growth of evergreen trees, the soil becomes capable of sustaining the Birch, the Hornbeam, the Oaks, &c., which in time renders it proper for the production of cereal plants. In Belgium, large heaths have in this way been transformed into rich, arable land.

The culture of the Wild Pine has been found so profitable that seeds or young plants may everywhere be obtained at a moderate price. April is the most favorable season for sowing the seeds or removing the young stocks: six or eight pounds of

seed should be scattered upon an acre of ground previously sown with half the usual quantity of oats; the roller suffices to cover them. The oats preserve a degree of coolness in the soil, and shelter the young Pines from the ardor of the sun; but great care must be taken not to injure them in the harvest.

The Wild Pine is so different from the White Pine in its foliage, the form of its cones, and the quality of its wood, that no comparison can be instituted between them: it is more analogous to the Yellow Pine, to which, however, it is superior. It might be most profitably cultivated on waste lands in the northern section of the United States.

PLATE CXXXVIII.

A branch with a cone of the natural size. Fig. 1. A leaf. Fig. 2. A seed. Fig. 3. Bostrichus piniperada, or Dermestes typographus, of the natural size. Fig. 4. The same insect enlarged.

[This tree prefers a dry, deep loam, and a somewhat elevated situation. Though not handsome, it is well adapted to coldlooking, rugged scenery.]