BOTANICAL SURVEY— SITGAR GROVE REGION 263 



species already ]n-eseiit, and the ensuing struggle between the seedlings, 

 whatever might b(^ its result, would not affect the composition of the 

 association. If the new plants which appear on clearing had to struggle 

 simply against the established association, they might not be able to 

 gain a foothold. But with the very changes which supply different 

 kinds of seeds there comes an unsettlement of the societies already in 

 possession. The floods become much more destructive and uproot large 

 patches of the original vegetation. Tn this Avay a place is prepared 

 already cleared for the invaders and they are no longer handicapped, 

 but compete at an advantage over the original inhabitants of the soil. 

 This condition is noticeable in the brooks as well as the rivers in an 

 area like the present, where the uplands are cleared down to the fall line 

 and used for agricultural purposes, while the ravines are left in timber. 



THE BOTTOM LAND SWAMP 



Perhaps. the clearest indication of the original condition of tlic 

 Hocking bottom land, except for the very bank of the stream, is (or was, 

 prior to 1912, when it was lumbered) given by a small swamp in the 

 N. E. 14 of section 4, Berne Twp., on the west side of the river. This 

 was originally covered with very large trees, six feet or more in diam- 

 eter, the stumps of which are not yet entirely decayed. The second 

 groM'th which has replaced this forest seems, fortunately for the purpose 

 in hand, to be a fairly natural association, alt ho the herbage in all 

 but the wettest parts is so modified by pasturing that it can give no 

 idea of the original association. 



The larger part of the area may be described as a maple swamp 

 in which Acer rttrritm covers the ground in places to the exclusion 

 of all other species, both herbaceous and woody. Beneath the maples 

 the ground is bare and muddy or covered with shallow puddles. In 

 places where the maples are not so thick, a more varied flora appears, the 

 principal components of which are : 



Ahms rugosa Benzoin ienzoin 



Vlmus americana Gleditsia tricanthos 



CepJialantlms occidentalis Sall.r nigra 



Where the land is a little dryer, numerous other trees appear; 

 among these the following are a1)undant enough to deserve mention: 



Quercus palustris Quercus imhricaria 



Malus glaucescens Cttrpinus caroliniana 



Juglans nigra Jii'/lans cinerea 



Fraxinus pennsylvanica Fraxiniis americana 



Quercus hieolor Pnonis virginiana (seruiina) 



