FOREST commissioner's REPORT. 155 



Further east too, the relations are such as would be ex- 

 pected. About ]\loosohead lake, and on the higher parts of 

 the plateau in general, the white birch, of these two species, 

 is the one far most commonly found. It is in fact one of our 

 hardiest species. On elevated sites it distances most of its 

 competitors, and climbs, with the spruce, fir and mountain 

 ash to the top of the highest peaks within the State. On 

 lower ground in eastern Maine, however, white birch like 

 spruce gradually gives way. In the southeastern counties 

 and along the railway east of the Kennebec the two species 

 will be found mixed. Beyond the southwestern angle of 

 Maine, white birch, otherwise than ])otanically speaking, is 

 not found. The close similarity therefore of white birch and 

 spruce is plainly to be seen. 



It will be well to mark off roughly the spruce- f,^.^"i^fj; 

 bearing portion of Maine, meaning now by that state?'^ ^''*^ 

 not the botanical distril^ution of spruce, nor even strictly its 

 occurrence as lumber, but rather the district through which 

 it is so considerable a })ortion of the forest growth as to be a 

 prominent feature of the lumber supply. So defined, the 

 xirea occupied by the species might l)e said to be bounded 

 on the south as follows: From the west line of the State 

 by the Androscoggin river till it takes its turn south at 

 Kumford : thence by a line drawn to the north line of Bing- 

 ham on the Kennebec river; thence east along the Piscataquis 

 river to the main Penobscot. The country east of the last 

 named river, including mainly to the south the rough lands 

 of "Washington and Hancock counties, may be said to be 

 practically spruce-bearing. All our territory north of this 

 line must be so considered, great as the variation is within 

 it. Spruce once clothed, too, and does largely yet, a stri})of 

 country all alonir (he coast. Of our total area of 31,500 

 square miles 22,000 may thus be classed as spruce-bearing. 



If th(! distril)ution of spruce within the State has ^fi'/'l;"," ^° 

 been descril)ed in relation to the topography, it is tu'i"'.'^^'^" 

 no less evidently related to soil and climate. The district 

 described embraces the roughest and poorest lands of the 



