FORESTKY. 459 



cedar, black spruce, tamarack, re«l or Norway pine, soft maple, and white birch, with, 

 scattered white ash and black cherry. Aspen, commonly known as jwplar, and bird 

 cherry are found on the burned-over land. The underbrush is mainly witch hobble, 

 strijH'd maple or moosewood, and mountain or spotted maple. Spruce predominates, 

 forming as much as 40 per cent of the mixture. The different forest areas are divided 

 into swauip, spruce land, and upper spruce slopes, and the characteristic species of 

 the different forest tyi)es are enumerated. The species ttj be luudjered are spruce, 

 balsam, and pine, and estimates are given of the merchantable volume of these 

 different species. The remaining species of trees should not be lumbered at present, 

 the demand for them not being sufficient to warrant the expense of lumltering these 

 trees at this time. 



The influence of forests on -water {Chron. Af/r. Canton Vaud, 14 {1901), No. 

 11, pj). SOO-SOo). — This article contains a sununaryof investigations which have been 

 made on the relationshiji l)etween forests anil rainfall. According to the author it 

 seems probable that forests increa.^e the volume of the total hydrometeors. The 

 actual demonstration of this statement is dithcult, and it rests mainly upon theoreti- 

 cal deductions. Tiie forest cover is said to retain a considerable portion of the total 

 moisture. Spruce and lir retain the largest amounts, while deciduous trees — such as 

 beech, oak, and hornbeam — retain the least. It is stated that an average of 25 i)er 

 cent of the total precipitation during the year is retained by the forest cover. Some 

 of this ultimately reaches the ground, running down the larger branches and trunks, 

 so that the soil of the forest receives about 20 per cent less water than is deposited 

 upon an equal area in the open. The forest cover is said to greatly diminish the 

 evajKiration of water from the soil, about one-fourth less evaporation taking place 

 from forest soil than from a similar soil in the open. Upon plains and elevations up 

 to 500 meters forests tend to increase the volume of soil water, while from 800 to 900 

 meters and above they diminish it. Forest trees are said to require only a small 

 amount of water as compared with the amount used by agricultural crops occupying 

 an equal area. 



The mechanical effect of forests is shown in the increased permeability of the soil by 

 the ])enetration of the roots to considerable depths. Upon a mountain side the forest, 

 1»y its influence in carrying water deep into the soil, has the same effect as would 

 be shown by a reduction of the slope. The total effect of this influence is unknown, 

 but is now being investigated at two of the Swiss forest stations. The pro])ortion of 

 subterranean water is increased and the superficial moisture diminished under a 

 forest cover, and in general more streams have their origin in wooded areas than in 

 cleared ones. Streams having their origin between 400 and 800 meters' elevation are 

 usually more numerous, larger, and more constant by reason of the greater total 

 moisture at that elevation. The effect of forests in preventing erosion is pointed 

 out. Forests likewise tend to repress floods by reducing the superficial soil moisture 

 and by indirectly diminishing the slope, causing water to spread more evenly. As 

 a result, in wooded areas local floods are less frequent and less destructive than in 

 denuded ones. However, floods due to cosmic influences are but little affected by 

 forests. 



Extermination of oaks at Lake Geneva, "Wisconsin, J. Jexsen {Forester, 7 

 {1901), No. 3, pp. 63-65). — An account is given of the gradual death and disai)i)ear- 

 ance of oak trees in the vicinity of Lake Geneva, Wisconsin. An examination made 

 of the leaves, branches, and trees failed to reveal the presence of any fungus or other 

 external cause of injury, and it was suggested that doubtless the trouble was due to a 

 lack of moisture. The seasons of 189.3, 1894, and 1895 were noted for their extreme 

 drought, and the winter of 1898-99 for its extreme low temperature and light fall of 

 snow. These factors acting together are supposed to have been the cause of the 

 destruction of many of the trees in (luestion. As a means of preventing furtiier 

 injury the author recommends covering the ground with shrubbery (jr herbaceous 



