1905] Chrysler, Reforestation at Woods Hole 127 
come up quickly and to thrive until they raised their heads above 
the general level of the forest; then it seemed that the salt winds 
struck them and they soon showed signs of decay. 
Concerning the rapid appearance of seedlings of deciduous trees, 
especially oaks, the source is sufficiently indicated by Mr. Fay’s 
reference to the natural grove in the valley near the house, and no 
doubt other depressions also contained trees. It is always difficult 
to understand how a heavy seed such as an acorn can be so rapidly 
dispersed; in the present case Mr. Fay always claimed that the 
squirrels and blue jays were responsible; the latter have for a long 
time been plentiful in the region. Once germinated the very toler- 
ant oak seedlings could afford to bide their time, which soon came in 
this instance on account of the short life of the Scotch pines. Severe 
storms such as that which occurred in 1898 have no doubt blown 
down many pines and thus formed openings which oaks have quickly 
filled up. 
THE KRUMMHOLZ. 
On the Buzzards Bay shore occurs a rather remarkable formation 
which illustrates the action of certain factors already referred to. As 
shown in plate 63, fig. 1, the land rises abruptly from a strand cov- 
ered with boulders, then descends, and further inland rises gradually 
to the general level ef the wooded tract. Nearest to the strand the 
only plants are Lathyrus maritimus and Ligusticum Scoticum —two 
characteristic halophytes of the region, Poa sp., Trifolium arvense, 
Lechea sp. A little higher up Myrica carolinensis is associated 
with these and clumps of this are seen in the left of the picture. 
Near the top of the slope appear dwarf specimens of Scotch pine, 
the ones nearest the water being smallest, their height gradually and 
regularly increasing on the inland part of the tract though the sur- 
face of the ground here descends, as stated earlier. The trees com- 
posing this formation are gnarled and twisted into fantastic shapes, 
and are so closely set that they form an impenetrable thicket. The 
level of the top of the trees is so regular that it gives one the impres- 
sion that some giant has trimmed the trees with his scythe. Al- 
though Pinus sylvestris forms the bulk of the formation, there is a 
small proportion of P. rigida and P. austriaca, and a few specimens 
of Juniperus virginiana and of Rhus copallina are scattered through 
