. Results of a biological survey of Mount Shasta, California. Natural history; Natural history. OCT., 1899.] WHITE-BARK PINE BELT. 45 the trees urow^ tliickeii into irref;iilar i)l;itcs ti:iiis\'t'rs(ii\' broken at intervals of s to 12 inches. In the growing tree the branches die from below npwiud in a ciirious way. First a subdivision of a low braiicli dies and the tii)S curl down- ward and inward, drawing together until they form a close curl or tail which can be set on fire by a single match. Dozens of these curls can be seen on most of the young trees, and also on the lowermost remaining b
. Results of a biological survey of Mount Shasta, California. Natural history; Natural history. OCT., 1899.] WHITE-BARK PINE BELT. 45 the trees urow^ tliickeii into irref;iilar i)l;itcs ti:iiis\'t'rs(ii\' broken at intervals of s to 12 inches. In the growing tree the branches die from below npwiud in a ciirious way. First a subdivision of a low braiicli dies and the tii)S curl down- ward and inward, drawing together until they form a close curl or tail which can be set on fire by a single match. Dozens of these curls can be seen on most of the young trees, and also on the lowermost remaining branches of the middle-sized and some of the old ones. This prt)cess of dying and curling continues until all llie lower are dead. Meanwhile, the curl-tails gradually drop off and litter the ground, leaving the bare dead branches hanging down at a sharp angle. These dead branches hug the trunks closer tlian the ones and cling on until the bark comes oft', when they form an armature of '*. -1 \ " rf. Fig. 27 Group of alpine hemlocks. unsightly bleached and brittle sticks pointing downward around the trunk. These in time break off, too, so that as the tree grows into maturity the handsome trunk finally becomes clear aud clean. The alpine hemlocks are prolific bearers and the ground is always strewn with their cast-off cones, which average about 2i inches in length, and have a dark streak down the middle of each scale. When young the cones are conical, when old and the scales become fully reflexed they are slender, subcylindrical and only three-fourths of an inch in diameter. Year after year the cones fall to the ground in such prodigious numbers that they form a very important part in the layer of felting that covers the surface in the hemlock forests— a loose dark felting composed of disintegrating needles, twigs, and cone scales pressed firmly together by the weight of the snow in winter, and. Please note that these images are extracted from scanned page
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1890, bookp, booksubjectnaturalhistory
