HISTORY OF CORBIN PRESERVE — ^MANVILLE 431 



established, "approximately one-third of the range was in open fields 

 and pasture, with the balance in timber" (Silver, 1957: 119). Old 

 orchards and vineyards persisted as reminders of earlier farms; 

 remains of Imnber camps, timber chutes, and sawmills attested to 

 earlier logging operations. Baynes (1931) tells of Shropshire sheep, 

 Angora goats, and other animals still roaming at large in the sum- 

 mer, and being kept in bams or pens during the winter months. 



A reconnaissance of the area in 1940 by Neil W. Hosley (cited by 

 Silver, 1957: 122) disclosed three main types of forest on the tract: 

 (1) Northern hardwoods of maples (J.cerspp.), birches {Betula s^-p.) 

 and heech. {Fag us grandlfolia) ; (2) red spruce {Picea rubra) and fir 

 {Abies balsamea) ; and (3) white pine {Pinus strobus), with oc- 

 casional red pine {P. resinosa) and pitch pine {P, rigida). Small 

 stands of other species include hemlock {Tsuga canadensis), white 

 cedar {Thuja occidentalis), aspen {Populus tremuloides) , and oaks 

 {Quercus spp.). 



Much timber was cut and sold soon after Corbin's death. The 

 winter of 1897 was unusually severe, and many elk and other game 

 animals perished. The most destructive agency to affect the pre- 

 serve was the hurricane of September 21, 1938, which flattened about 

 one-third of the merchantable stands of white pine (Silver, 1957: 

 124). Some 50 acres of salvage cuttings soon grew up to striped 

 maple {Acer pennsylvanicum) , raspberry and blackberry {Rubus 

 spp.). A serious fire in 1953 burned about 2,000 acres, but was 

 largely confined to steep, rocky slopes. 



Weather conditions at the Corbin Preserve are best represented 

 by the 40-year records at Hanover, approximately 15 miles to the 

 north. These are summarized in Climate and Man (U.S. Dept. Agric. 

 Yearbook, 1941 : 990) by the following average figures: January tem- 

 perature, 18.1° F. ; July temperature, 68.8; maximum, 101; minimum, 

 — 37 ; growing season, 129 days between May 22 and September 28 ; 

 annual precipitation, 35.52 inches, rather evenly distributed through- 

 out the year. 



ORIGINAL INTRODUCTIONS 



Corbin's intention was to bring together at his preserve "all the 

 animals of the world that can live there harmoniously." There was 

 to be no hunting at the start, nor was the park designed with this 

 in mind. Neither was it planned primarily for scientific research, 

 though it soon became apparent that it might well provide useful 

 data on the habits of the various animals. For the present account of 

 the procurement of the original stock we are indebted to Spears 

 (1893), who reported that "Here . . . are gathered 25 buffalo, 60 

 elk, over 70 deer, half a dozen each of caribou and antelope, 18 wild 

 boars imported from Germany, and an unknown number of moose — 



