FOREST COJIMISSIOXEU'S REPORT. 55 



with more or less poplar ; but the difference was this, — in one re- 

 gion the birch was the white birch, (B. papyrifera,) in the other 

 the gray birch, (B. populifolia. ) This fact, sharply defined as it 

 was, and having a possible bearing on the future value of the land, 

 is thoroughly illustrative and suggests a line of investigation ihat 

 later on, as our forest resources come to be the object of more solic- 

 itude, will be developed. That is the seeding habits of our trees. 

 Doubtless in this case the determining fact was neighborhood, prox- 

 imity of seed trees of one or the other species. At other times the 

 question is complicated by another matter, the question of which 

 tree has seed at the particular time that it is required. Among 

 certain species a year's start would make all the difference possible, 

 determining frequently whether a valuable or worthless species 

 should occupy the ground. These matters have various and prac- 

 tical bearings. It seems probable, for instance, that if the seed- 

 ling habits of our trees were fully and generally understood, the 

 periodicity and other habits, that due regard to them in clearing 

 land might very much influence the character and consequently the 

 value of the succeeding growth. 



So much for the dominant growth on this burnt tract. If less 

 conspicuous, yet no less important, is the undergrowth. For with- 

 out waiting for the history to develop, a thorough knowledge of 

 the elements that are there, and the nature of each of them, will 

 enable the future of the land to be predicted. In the first place it 

 i.s worlhy of remark that very seldom are there on such a tract any 

 young trees of the species which form the overgrowth. Birch and 

 po|)lar spring up because sprouts or seeds are available, and they 

 distance other species because in unobstructed sunlight they grow 

 faster. On the other hand they will not start under a shade, and 

 however much seed may be supplied, except in openings it is 

 entirely unavailing. The species which do grow up in such a situ- 

 ation are largi ly those which constituted our original forests. 

 Spruce and fir to a less degree, cedar and heinlock, and in open 

 situations pine will generally be found coming up on any such 

 piece of burnt ground. These trees are propagated by seed, and 

 the extent and thickness of their distribution is measured by the 

 volume of seed supply and the distance to which it may be distri- 

 buted. Of all the means of distribution, and the limit of it in dif- 

 ferent cases, we are not yet informed, but any observer can testify 

 that seeds of our coniferous tn es travel many hundred yards in the 

 wind. Of these species on burnt land, specimens would be found 



