146 Rhodora [AvGUsT 
streams as of old, and are perhaps slightly more abundant than formerly, 
as now they have a greater latitude of growth. The hickory, ash, white 
maple, rock maple and hop-hornbean have not changed materially ; 
the latter, however, is not abundant, and very likely never has been. 
'The elm, which is quite abundant, and the sycamore, which is less so, 
retain their old habitats along the river valleys, and the white cedar, 
hackmatack and black spruce have shared with one another the abso- 
lute monopoly of the swamps for centuries. Excepting for the flooding 
of so many of the swamps for artificial ponds, these species remain pre- 
cisely the same. The beech and canoe birch have both fallen off ; the 
beech more especially, as this tree does not seed very abundantly here, 
and, by the present methods of deforestation, the soil conditions are 
rendered unfit for the development of this species. 
Briefly stated, then, we may say that the principal changes which 
have taken place in the forests of central Massachusetts are these: 
The hemlock, beech and canoe birch have become less abundant, while 
the quicker growing white birch and poplar have become more abun- 
dant. The complete and continual removal of the forest growths has 
undoubtedly exerted a great influence upon many of our smaller 
plants. 
One of the principal causes of the decline of our smaller plants can 
be traced directly to the lack of organic matter, or humus, in the soil. 
The methods of deforestation which have been employed for so many 
years are the cause of this. These methods consist in clearing vast 
areas of land of the trees — usually burning them over and subjecting 
. them for a year or so to the scorching rays of the sun. By this pro- 
cess, the conditions of the soil undergo remarkable changes, and en- 
tirely different environmental conditions result. Very frequently the 
regions of cleared forest are utilized for pasture; then, after some 
years, they are again allowed to grow up to forests. But whatever use 
is made of the deforestated areas, the results are practically the same ; 
namely, the organic matter, or humus, and the water conditions are 
entirely changed, which results in unfitting the soil for many plants. 
The former luxuriance of our meadow grasses, and strawberries, and 
such humus loving plants as our orchids, can at the present time be 
imagined by catching glimpses of them growing under virgin soil con- 
ditions. The humus loving plants growing about Mt. Toby, Mt. 
Holyoke, and on the Berkshire Mountains where the forests are 
more like the primitive conditions, are generally twice or three times 
