Hill: Penobscot Vegetation 333 



ditions are favorable. It is intolerant of shade, so in heavy 

 woods the seedlings soon succomb, but in open places such 

 as old fields or burned over areas, particularly those with 

 a sandy soil, the pine reproduces readily and often forms 

 pure stands, or else is associated with the red oak. 



Acer rubrum. The red maple is frequent in moist soils 

 at low elevations, although it is more characteristic of the 

 swamp forests of the region. It is very conspicuous in sec- 

 ond growth woods owing to its tendency of forming coppice 

 and its ability to reproduce readily from seed. As it is 

 fairly tolerant it can grow to maturity in dense hardwood 

 stands. 



Abies balsamea. The balsam fir, although more often oc- 

 curring with the spruce in strictly coniferous woods, may be 

 found in deciduous woods, though rarely as mature individ- 

 uals. It reproduces prolifically in clearings and as it grows 

 rapidly, at first, it plays a prominent part in the early stages 

 of second growth woods. As the hardwoods increase in size 

 they soon predominate over the fir, which is unable to suc- 

 cessfully compete w T ith them, owing to its intolerance and 

 its relatively short life. The ecological relations of the fir 

 in the deciduous forests have been discussed at length by 

 Nichols (23). 



Acer saccharurn. The sugar maple, one of the character 

 trees of the regional climax, like the hemlock, is restricted 

 to the more favorable localities, where there is a deep, well 

 drained soil and protection from the fogs and cold of the 

 coast. In such places reproduction occurs readily, since 

 the tree is a prolific seeder. Its reproduction is especially 

 noticeable in the dense climax forests for the seedlings are 

 very tolerant and can readily endure the heavy shade of the 

 older maples, the beeches, birches and spruces. The tree is 

 also abundant in the second growth on cut over land, large- 

 ly owing to its ability to sprout from the stump. 



The remaining five species, which occasionally are found 



