• BOOKS AND CURRENT LITERATURE 



Nova Scotia Forests. — The Commission of Conservation of Can- 

 ada has issued a careful report^ upon the forest conditions of Nova 

 Scotia, prepared by Dr. B. E. Fernow, assisted by Dr. C. D. Howe and 

 Mr. J. H. White. The pubhcation is of value to technical foresters, 

 especially to those interested in the region of which it treats, rather 

 than to ecologists and plant geographers, since the economic aspects 

 are everywhere emphasized. The work is divided into two parts. The 

 first, by Dr. Fernow, is entitled Forest Conditions of Nova Scotia, and 

 is general in its nature. The second, by Dr. Howe, entitled Distribu- 

 tion and Reproduction of the Forest in Relation to the Underlying 

 Rocks and Soils, is detailed, describing the forest conditions of the prov- 

 ince county by county. 



The matters of principal interest to plant geographers and ecologists 

 are as follows: 



Three regions are distinguished: (1) The Atlantic slope of the pen- 

 insula; (2) the northern slope, tributary to the Bay of Fundy, Minas 

 Basin, and Northumberland Strait; (3) Cape Breton Island. The rocks 

 of the Atlantic slope are mainly granite, quartzite, and slate. In the 

 granite country the higher ridge tops, with thin soils, support a co- 

 niferous forest, mainly of Abies balsamea. Upon the slopes, and upon 

 lower ridges, is a mixed forest of Fagus grandifolia, Acer saccharutn, 

 Betula lutea, Picea rubra (the principal lumber tree of the province), 

 and Tsuga canadensis. Bogs and barrens occur, the latter due in part 

 to severe fires. The quartzite areas are poorly forested, the soils being 

 sour and ill-drained. The slate areas are fertile and occupied largely 

 by farms. The northern slope is much more diversified geologically 

 than the southern, and the rocks in general are of kinds that disinte- 

 grate much more readily. The soils are thus deeper and of better 

 quality. All the forest types of the south slope are repeated here, and 

 an additional one, characterized by Pinus Banksiana, is present upon 

 conglomerate ridges. The forest in general is more luxuriant than 



' Fernow, B. E., assisted by Howe, C. D. and White, J. H. Forest conditions 

 of Nova Scotia. Commission of Conservation, Canada. Ottawa, 1912. 



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