BOOKS AND CURRENT LITERATURE 55 



u])()ii the Atlantic sl()])(\ On Capo Breton Island Abies halsamea is 

 the dominant tree, with a little spruce and still less of Beluln alba 

 papyn'fcra. 



Burned areas are extensive throughout the province, some of them 

 reproducing well, others poorly. Mechanical analyses show that the 

 soils with poor forest rejjroduction contain a large proportion of coarse 

 gravel (average 32%), while those with good reproduction average onh' 

 15% of coarse material. 



The observations of Fernow and Howe confirm the correctness of 

 placing Nova Scotia in the transitional zone between the Eastern De- 

 ciduous Forest Region and the Northeastern Conifer Forest Region. 

 The climax forest seems to be the mixed type, consisting of Fogus 

 grandifolia, Acer saccharum, Tsuga canadensis (climax trees of the East- 

 ern Deciduous Forest), Abies balsamea, Picea canadensis, Betula alba 

 papyrifera (climax Irees of the Northeastern Conifer Forest), and Picea 

 rubra and Betula lutea (mainly transitional in range). Ganong^ gives a 

 similar forest type, the "mixed maple-birch-spruce-fir association" as the 

 climax forest of New Brunswdck. There is no indication as to whether 

 the beech and sugar maple are folloAving their usual custom: i.e., 

 tending to replace the other species. Possibly the northern half of 

 Cape Breton Island should be removed from the transitional zone and 

 placed within the Northeastern Conifer Region, since the forest there 

 is largely Abies balsamea, with admixture of Picea sp. {rubra or cana- 

 densis?) and Betula alba papyrifera. This is the climax type upon Isle 

 Royale in Lake Superior^ and probably over most of the Northeastern 

 Conifer Forest. 



Occasionally, though not often, in the work under consideration, there 

 is uncertainty as to the species referred to by reason of the use of am- 

 biguous common names, as for instance a case on p. 20, referred to in 

 the last paragraph, where "spruce" is mentioned as a constituent of 

 the Cape Breton forest. The fault is a common one in forestry publi- 

 cations. The photographic illustrations are unsatisfactory, but the 

 maps are detailed and excellent. — William S. Cooper. 



- Ganong, W. F. Preliminary outline of a plan for the study of the factors 

 determining the features of New Brunswick vegetation. Bull. Nat. Hist. Soc. 

 New Brunswick 17: 127-130. 1899. 



Ganong, W. F. A preliminary synopsis of the grouping of the vegetation 

 (phytogeography) of the province of New Brunswick. Ibid. 21: 47-60. 1902. 



^ Cooper, W. S. The climax forest of Isle Royale, Lake Superior, and its 

 development. Bot. Gaz. 55: 1-44, 115-140, 189-23.5. 1913. 



