First and foremost among the needle-leaved trees comes the pine, of which about seventy species are known. The white pine, known in England as yellow pine and also as Weymouth pine, is widely distributed in America, and is, or has been, our most valuable timber tree, but seems to be doomed to rapid extinction, at least so far as the wide, clear boards and planks of old-growth timber are concerned, which are now exceedingly hard to obtain.

There is no better wood for the beginner than clear white pine for all purposes to which it is suited.

It is light, stiff, straight-grained and of close fibre, easily worked, can be easily nailed, and takes a good finish. When allowed to grow it has reached a large size (as in the so-called "pumpkin" pine), furnishing very wide, clear boards, of beautiful texture and with a fine, satiny surface. It is of a light yellowish-brown colour, growing darker with time. It is soft, resinous, and of moderate strength. Pine is cut into lumber of many forms, and is used for inside finishing of houses, for many purposes of carpentry and cabinet-making, for masts and spars, for clapboards, shingles, and laths, doors, sashes, blinds, patterns for castings, and a long list of different purposes. It holds glue exceedingly well and takes paint well.

Other varieties, as the sugar pine, the Canadian red pine, the yellow pine, etc., grow in America. White pine is also found in Europe. The Scotch pine or Norway pine, known also as red, Scotch, or yellow fir, and as yellow deal and red deal,1 is the common pine of the North of Europe, hence its name, Pinus sylvestris, pine of the forest. It is hard, strong, not very resinous, and is extensively used.

Southern or Hard Pine. This very important timber is found on the Southern Atlantic and Gulf coasts of the United States. It is very hard, heavy, and resinous, with coarse and strongly marked grain. It is durable, strong, and not easily worked by the beginner, and is hard to nail after seasoning. It is extensively used for girders, floor-timbers, joists, and many kinds of heavy timber work, including trestles, bridges, and roofs, for masts and spars, for general carpentry, floors, decks, and interior finish, railway cars, railway ties, and many other purposes, and, in addition, for the manufacture of turpentine.

1 The term deal, though often loosely applied to the wood of the pine and fir, properly refers to planks of these woods cut more than 7" wide and 6' long - usually 3" thick and 9" wide, The term is common in Great Britain but not in the United States,

Other varieties of hard pine are sold and used successfully for the same purposes, all under the common name of hard pine, Southern pine, Georgia pine, yellow hard pine, etc. Another variety of hard " pitch " pine (Pinus rigida), often confused with the Southern pine, is heavy, resinous, and durable, but not suited for the better class of work.