PINE, Pintts, a genus of trees of the natural order coniferce. The Linnaran genus includes all kinds of fir, larch, and cedar; but as now limited, the genus pines is distin guished by moncecious flowers, and woody cones with numerous two-seeded scales, the scales having an angular truncated apex. The leaves are linear and very narrow, of a very dark-green &Aar, growing in clusters or in"pairs, and surrounded by searions scales at the base. To this genus belong many noble and useful trees. They mostly grow' in mountainous or other exposed situations, and their narrow leaves are aantirably adapted to evade the force of winds, which produce in the tops of pines a peculiar sound, tour* noticed by the ancient poets, more soft and continuous than in trees of richer foliage. Most of the `pines are more or less social, one kind often covering a considerable tract; some of thein clothing tire sides and even the summits of mountains with mag nificeut but somber forests; some growing in lower situations, on otherwise unproduc tive sandy grounds, as the pine barrens of North America. The pines growing in the most barren soils, or in the coldest climates and most exposed situations, are often very small; and although very unlike any other shrubs or bushes, are scareely to be called trees. Pines are widely diffused over the northern hemisphere, being found on moun tains within and near the tropics, and in the colder temperate and the arctic regions descending to the level of the sea.
The SCO•CII PINE or Sc•rcir FIR (P. sylvestris) is the only species indigenous to Britain. It has leaves in pairs, about an inch and a half long; the cones about the same length, obtuse, and with unarmed scales. On very poor soils and at great elevations it is reduced to a kind of shrub, but in favorable situations it becomes a lofty tree. A plank five feet and a half in diameter has been obtained from a Scottish forest. The Scotch pine is of quick growth, but has been known to attain the age of 400 years. Its head is somewhat conical or rounded, and the lower branches die off as the tree grows, leaving the older trees bare of brunettes for the greater part of their height; but it is more apt to send off large branches than most of the conifers:. There are still native forests of Scotch pine at Braemar and elsewhere in the highlands of Scotland ; and even in the south of Scotland noble trees are to be seen which, probably, were not planted by man. The Scotch pine is not indigenous to the south of England; but, having been in troduced, is spreading rapidly and spontaneously, along with the pinaster, in some of the heaths and other unfertile tracts. Immense forests trf it exist in seine countries of Europe, in some of which it is mingled with the spruce fir. In the middle and north of Europe and of Asia it is found even in plains near the level of the•sea, especially where the soil is somewhat sandy; in the south of Europe it grows only en mountains. Its timber is highly valuable, being very resinous and durable, and is the red deal or red pine used in house and ship-carpentry: There is very great difference, however, in the tim ber of Scotch pine growing in different soils and situations, rich soils and sheltered situa tions being unfavorable to the quality of the timber, which becomes white, soft, and comparatively worthless; and there exist several varieties of Scotch pine, some of which yield timber very superior to others. Many plantations in Britain have, unfortunately, been made of inferior kinds. One of the best varieties is that which forms the northern Scottish forests, often designated Braemar pine by nurserymen. It is remarkable for its very horizontal branches, and is therefore sometimes called P. horizontalis.—The Scotch pine is not only valuable for its timber, which is available for some purpose at every stage of its.growth, but on account of other products. Common turpentine is iu great part obtained from it, and much tar, pitch, resin, and lamp-black. See these heads. Oil of turpentine is sometimes distilled from the canes, and even from the leaves; the leaves have also been used in Germany for the manufacture of it substance resem bling tow, and called waldicolle (forest wool),• suitable for stuffing cushions, etc. The resinous roots are dug out of the ground in many parts of the highlands of Scotland, and being divided into small splinters, are used to give light in cottages instead of candles. Fishermen, in some places, make ropes of the inner bark, which is applied to a very different use, when most soft and succulent in spring, by the Iantehatlnles and Lap landers, being dried, ground, steeped in water to remove the resinous taste, and used for making a coarse kind of bread.—The DWARF PINE (P. pumilio or P. is found
on the Alps and Pyrenees, its trunk often lying on the ground, although sometimes it appears as a bush or low tree. The recumbent trunks are called krummholz (crooked wood) and k,nieholz (knee-wood) by the. Germans.—The leaves are in pairs, very like those of the Scotch pine, but a little longer; the cones are also similar. From the young shoots an oil resembling oil of turpentine is obtained by distillation, which is a kind of universal medicine among the peasantry of Hungary, as is also the resin spontaneously exuding from the tree, which is known as Hungarian MACK PINE, Jr BLACK FIR (P. nigricans, or P. Anstriaca), is another species closely allied to the. Scotch pine, but remarkable for its very long leaves. It is a native of Austria. It abounds ,a resin more than any other European tree.—To the same group of pines belongs the SEA SIDE or TAURIAN PINE (P. Pallasiana, maritima, or Tourica), which also affords resin in great quantity, and of a very pleasant odor. It is found iu many parts of the south of Europe. Its timber is of little value; but great part of the turpentine of the Landes and other maritime districts of France is obtained from it. It yields also part of the Bur gundy pitch of the apothecaries' shops.—The ArErro PINE (P. Halepensis), a native of the south of Europe, Syria, etc., is a very graceful tree of moderate size, with leaves in pairs and slender. It yields a liquid resin or turpentine, which is extracted from it in Prov ence and elsewhere, and sold as Venice turpentine. The wood is extensively used in the Levant for ship-building.—The LAntcto (P. larieio) has leaves in pairs, lax, and 4 to 8 in. long, cones 2 to 4 in. long, with the scales slightly pointed. It is often called the CORSICAN PINE. It grows on the shores of the Mediterranean sea, and is valuable both for its timber and for its resinous products. In the island of Corsica, it frequently attains the height of 140 feet. It grows well in sandy soils, and has been made particu larly useful for preventing the drifting of the sand, and turning to account the otherwise useless tracts between the mouths of the Garonne and the Adour in France, thus also preserving valuable lands which the sand threatened to overwhelm. The PINASTEII or CLULiTEICPINE (P. pinaster) is another of the most important European species. It has cones in whorls. of 3, 4, or even 8 together, 4 to 6 in. long, leaves in pairs, and very long. It is found on the shores of the Mediterranean, and also in the Himalaya and in China. It has been used in France to a great extent, in the same way as the Laricio, for covering waste sandy tracts. The timber is of inferior quality, but great quantities of resin are procured from it. It yields Bordeaux PYRENEAN PINE (P. Pyrenaica) is a majestic tree, a native of the Pyrenees, and producing very fine timber.—The CALABRIAN PINE (P. Bruttia) somewhat resembles the pinaster.—The STONE PINE (P. pined) a tree with a broad umbrella-shaped head, a form often seen also in the Scotch fir, forms a characteristic feature of the scenery of the Mediterranean, and is very often introduced in paintings. It is the pints of the Germans, the pignon of the French. The leaves are in pairs, 4 to 5 in. long; the cones very large, ovate, and obtuse. The seeds, which do not ripen till the fourth year. are large, abound in a fixed oil, and when fresh have a sweet taste resembling that of almonds. They are used in Italy and other countries in the same way as almonds and pistachio nuts for the dessert. in various dishes, also in emulsions, etc., under the names of yrinies, piniules, and pignoes. The use of them, however, is almost entirely confined to the countries in which they are produced, as they very soon become rancid. They are sometimes imported into London in the cone, in which way they can be kept longer, but the cost of importation is much increased. The wood of this tree is very useful and beautiful. It yields resinous prod ucts only in small quantity.—The CEMBRA PINE, or Swiss STONE PINE, which grows in the centrai parts of Europe and the south of Siberia—a stately tree, with the lower branches more persistent than they are in most pines, and rigid leaves in groups of three to five—also produces eatable seeds (Cembra nuts), which, although they are extracted with difficulty, are much used. The cuticle contains a resinous juice; but in Siberia this fruit is so much prized, that noble trees are often cut down to obtain it. The Cem bra pine yields a pellucid, whitish oil, resembling oil of turpentine, and known as at, pathian balsam..