CONIFEROUS FORESTS 



345 



states which according to the last census cut more hemlock lumber than 

 white pine — making due allowance for the inclusion of more than one 

 species under the same name — have richer soils, on the whole, than those 

 in which the reverse is true.) 



This tree is confined to situations rarely or never visited by fire, 

 being protected either by the scarcity of undergrowth, or by the topo- 

 graphy, or both. It is probably very sensitive to fire, especially when 

 young. 



Formerly the hemlock was valued chiefly as a source of tanbark, 

 and it was once, and still is in many places, as far apart as Michigan 

 and Georgia, a common practise to cut the trees for their bark alone, 

 and leave the logs to rot in the woods. At present it is used largely 

 also for lumber and pulp-wood. The leading states in the production 

 of hemlock lumber in 1909, in proportion to area, were Pennsylvania, 

 Wisconsin, West Virginia, Michigan, New Hampshire, Vermont, Maine, 

 New York, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Maryland and Virginia, in the 

 order named. (The first four of these, as well as Vermont, New York 

 and Maryland, cut more hemlock than white pine. ) 



The Pitch Pine (Pinus rigida) ranges from New Brunswick and 

 Ohio to the mountains of Georgia, but seems to form extensive pure 



Pitch Pine (Pinus rigida) Near Lakehurst, N. J. Typical New Jersey pine-barrens. 

 Trees in background killed by fire. August, 1909. 



stands only in southeastern Massachusetts, eastern Long Island, and 

 southern New Jersey. Such forests usually have a dense undergrowth 

 of two shrubby oaks (Quercus ilicifolia and Q. prinoides) , with poor 



VOL. LXXXIV.— 24. 



