THE LOBLOLLY PINE.
P. Taeda, Linn.
The loblolly or old field pine chooses land generally sterile and otherwise worthless. It grows in swamps along the Atlantic coast, from New Jersey through the Carolinas, and follows the Gulf from Tampa Bay into Texas. In land, it is found from the Carolinas to Arkansas and Louisiana. It has remarkable vitality of seed and seed lings, which do equally well on sterile uplands, on water soaked ground, or where soil is light and sandy. It is very apt to take possession of land once cleared for agriculture. The young trees crowd together and grow with tre mendous vigor the first years of their lives, successfully holding large tracts in pure forests. The limbs are short, thick, matted, forming a compact rounded head; the leaves slender, stiff, twisted, pale-green, six to nine inches long, in groups of threes. The wood is rich in resin, but differs greatly in quality with age and the fertility of the soil.
"Rosemary pine" was heavy, hard, close-grained, with a thin rim of soft sap-wood. This famous lumber, preferred by shipbuilders of many countries for masts, grew in the virgin forest of the Carolinas. Giants were cut in the rich marsh lands back from the Sounds. But the small lob lolly pine, grown on sandy soil, is but third-grade lumber, the sap-wood three times as thick as the heart-wood and ex ceedingly coarse-grained. One merit has recently been discovered in this lumber, that formerly blackened before it was seasoned, by the invasion of a fungous growth. It quickly absorbs creosote, which renders it immune. from decay. It is used in the building of docks, cars, boats, and locally in house-building. Its wood makes a sharp, quick heat wlv'n dried. It is used in bakeries and brick kilns, and in charcoal-burning.