THE PITCH PINE. 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? [Illustration: _Fig. 235. Cone of pitch pine. One-half natural size._] 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. A pitch pine branch is shown in Fig. 234. The part between the tip and A is the past season's growth. Observe the foliage on the part that is two years old. Part of it has fallen. We often find it on growth which is older than this; but in this specimen there are no leaves on the three-year wood. [Illustration: _Fig. 236. Pitch pine. One-third natural size._] The cone of the pitch pine is very unlike that of the white pine. Fig. 235 gives a good idea of one that has shed its seeds. Compare this with Fig. 233; or, better, examine the two kinds of cones side by side. The pitch pine cones are sometimes borne in clusters of two or more and they persist,--that is, remain on the tree for several years after the seeds have ripened and scattered. Notice how the new cones are borne with reference to last season's growth. Are they attached to the tip of a branchlet? Or are they closely attached to the side of a branch? Figs. 236 and 237 will help us answer this question. The little cones in Fig. 237 near the tip of the twig, are just beginning to form. [Illustration: _Fig. 237. Pitch pine, showing young cones. Half natural size._] The pitch pine usually grows in sandy or rocky soil and is found in the United States along the Atlantic coast to Virginia, along the mountains to Georgia, westward to Western New York, Eastern Ohio, Kentucky, and Eastern Tennessee. It has little value as timber, because it does not grow large enough. SCOTCH AND AUSTRIAN PINES. In the same manner other pines may be studied. Fig. 238 shows a cone and a bit of foliage of the Scotch pine, and Fig. 239 the Austrian pine. These cones grew the past season and are not yet mature. After they ripen and shed the seeds which they contain, they will look somewhat like the cone in Fig 235. The Scotch pine has short and blue-green needles. The Austrian pine is coarser, and has long dark-green needles.