FOSTER MOTHERS. igs 



banks do not seem to affect it materially except to modify its luxuri- 

 ance. It goes much beyond the " rich, rocky woods" mentioned by 

 Mr. Pollard ; it is in fact a plant of extensive range of habitat. Out- 

 side of the sand regions here and elsewhere about the great lakes, it 

 is predominatingly a denizen of rocks and rocky woods, under condi- 

 tions of soil from rathtr moist to very dry, and of light from shade not 

 excessive to the brightest and most direct sunlight. It loves a steep 

 slope whether of river bank or cliff, and is everywhere a beautiful 

 plant in foliage and flower, but it appeals to the sense of beauty most 

 when adorning the precipitous face of some high ledge or cliff, to 

 which it clings far above our reach, its flowers looking down upon us, 

 saying "You may admire but not touch." 



Chicago, 111., July 22, rSgg. 



FOSTER MOTHERS. 

 By Marcus E. /ones. 



IN looking out over our western forests at high altitudes a person is 

 greatly impressed with the part played by foster mothers. The 

 firs and spruces being the ones needing such care, are found 

 either where the foster mothers abound or where other condi- 

 tions give the same protection. Every one notes the fact that these 

 evergreens start for the most part in aspen groves. The groves are 

 often so dense that not even aspens could start from the seed in them. 

 The firs gradually stretch up till they overtop the aspens, but con- 

 trary to the accepted opinion they do not choke their benefactors. 

 The aspen limbs die rapidly so that below there is little beside the 

 bare trunk; above is a short and rounded top. This gives plenty of 

 room for the widely spreading lower branches of the firs. Above 

 where the rounded tops come together the fir needs no space for its 

 top is needle-like. Thus you may see a forest of aspens as dense as 

 they will grow and sandwiched between the aspens an equally dense 

 forest of firs, both species growing together without crowding. The 

 aspen is unlike the fir; it is a rapid grower and short-lived, usually; 

 it grows about 40 to 50 feet high and with a trunk not over a foot in 

 diameter, but occasionally it reaches 75 feet high and two feet in 

 diameter, then it dies. The fir and spruce spindle up and long be- 

 fore they mature their foster mothers have died of old age. They 

 then shade the ground so closely that no aspens could get light enough 

 to grow. When the firs are burnt off or cut down the aspens start at 

 once and in a few years their children of darker hue arise. What 

 are the conditions that make this rotation of forests occur ? They 



