386 Proceedings Portland Society Natural History 



mediately after the snow disappears, when the tops are dry, 

 but the soil is still wet and so serves as a protection for the 

 roots. The burning is said to improve the berries and also 

 serves to keep down the development of shrubs, for nature is 

 constantly struggling to gain the upperhand and start a suc- 

 cession of vegetation in the proper direction. About one- 

 third of the barren is burned each year, while berries are 

 gathered on another third, and the remainder lies idle. The 

 season that an area is burned over the bushes sprout out 

 and grow a few inches. The second year they bear a full 

 crop of berries, but the bushes are not large enough to fur- 

 nish sufficient fuel for a fire which will completely clear the 

 ground. The third year the crop falls off, but there is suffi- 

 cient vegetative growth so that the patch can be burned 

 again. 



Newly burned forest land bears a better crop than the old- 

 er barrens because the soil is richer and there is a greater 

 amount of ash on it. Consequently there is a too common 

 tendency to convert more and more of the forests which are 

 less profitable financially into blueberry land, rather than to 

 trouble to properly care for the existing barrens. 



c. Association-types due to lumbering 



The nature of the vegetation following the cutting olf of 

 woodland is dependent on the character of the original 

 growth and whether or not the area is burned over following 

 the removal of the trees. 



In the case of hardwood forests many of the component 

 species possess the ability to sprout from the stump, so that 

 often a second growth of such species results almost im- 

 mediately. This is particularly true in the case of the 

 beech and there are many pure second growth stands of this 

 tree. In general, however, the removal of the deciduous 

 trees, and the consequent increase in light favors the rapid 

 development of the conifers, which were present in the under- 



