“Certainly, I shall be pleased to do so,” said the pine, who never tired of talking of the good traits of its family and friends. “Where is the little limb you had the other day?” “Here it is,” picking it up. “Look closely at my leaves. Did you ever notice anything peculiar about the way they grow?” “No. Oh, I see. The needles grow in pairs. Two seem to be wrapped together at the stem end.” “That is it. I have a cousin who stands just on the other side of that great elm tree. Under it is a rustic bench. See if by standing on it you cannot reach a twig. If you can, bring it here.” Jacob did as directed. “Now look at those needles. Are ours alike?” “No; these are coarser, longer and darker than yours; though they grow in twos.” “Right. Run back and look at the cones.” When he returned he said: “I could not get a cone, but I can see that those are coarser and larger, too.” “How about the shape of the tree?” “You two grow very much alike.” “That is a first cousin. Its family lives on the mountains of Austria. It is known as black pine or Austrian pine. “Do you see that tall pine near that massive monument?” “Where?” he asked, looking around. “Just behind you,” said Scotch pine, nodding its head in that direction. “Oh, yes, I see now. Such a tall, straight trunk! Its crown grows in a point, making one think of a high church steeple piercing the sky.” “As its limbs are above your reach it is useless for you to try to get a branch. If you will get papa to break you a twig some day, and you examine it, you will find that its needles, which are finer than mine, are in bunches of five. See when the wind blows how gracefully her boughs bend and sway. Go there and look at the cones.” Off he went. Returning soon, he said: “The cones are not at all like yours; they are long and different in shape. The silky needles look something like a paint brush at the end of each twig.” “It is a far more beautiful tree than I, so straight and lofty. Its pointed top looks down upon all the other great trees in this cemetery. If you could go through Canada and northern United States, especially around the Great Lakes, you would see great forests of this—the white pine. As its wood contains little resin it looks white, and is not so valuable for fuel. As it is easily nailed and worked, it is said to be a soft wood. You can whittle it with your knife which Santa brought you. Furniture, shingles, laths, boards and many other things are made of it. “If you could tramp around the Rocky Mountains you would find another soft pine tree, popularly called the sugar pine because the burnt resin has at times been used by the Indians for sugar. Coarse cakes are made from its nut-like seeds. Its cones grow to be more than a foot long. Its leaves, too, grow in fives.