UKI'I.ACK.MKNT oi" TIIK CHESTNUT 111 



awaiting^ a liberation, and if given sufficient light and plenty of room 

 they will develop into thrifty stands. Not all of these small trees will 

 be able to respond favorably to the new and freer environment, for 

 some of them have surely been suppressed beyond recovery, but among 

 them there will be a sufficient number to develop into stands with a 

 satisfactory density. 



I 'itch pine is also a close associate of the chestnut. They appear 

 Lo<j:ether in many places, particularly on dry, gravelly, and sandy 

 mountain slopes, upon which some of the more exacting trees do not 

 thrive. The actual height grov^-th of pitch pine, just as that of chestnut 

 oak. is in many cases greater than the apparent growth. It also makes, 

 especially in youth, two and occasionally three growth additions in a 

 single season. 



In my opinion, the giving of a little conscious care to the stands 

 from which the chestnut is disappearing, will bring in pitch pine in 

 considerable quantity, and help form satisfactory new stands. Pitch 

 pine is worth favoring on account of its wide natural range, modest 

 silvical characteristics, satisfactory growth and yield, and in addition 

 to all these desirable attributes, it is the most fire-resistant forest tree 

 native to Pennsylvania. 



Black locust is another associate of the chestnut. Its association, 

 however, is more local than that of the chestnut oak and pitch pine. 

 A comparison between the present composition of forest stands and 

 earlier reports of its occurrence show that it is becoming more abun- 

 (lan:. Records indicate that a marked increase occurred immediately 

 after the removal of the original forest, and if present observations- 

 prove correct, it will show another marked increase in places vacated 

 by the chestnut. Kohout", reporting upon the change of vegetation 

 along Martin's Alountain near Hyndam, in Bedford County, Pennsyl- 

 vania, writes : "Here, where formerly flourished diiiferent varieties 

 of oak and other deciduous trees, the locust has now commenced to 

 grow and is distributed and dominant over the entire mountain, and 

 will, undoubtedly, in the near future, be the prevailing wood, since 

 the light sandy soil particularly favors the growth of this kind of tree." 

 The black locust trees which followed the original lumbering opera- 

 tions, and at the time of lumbering ranged in size from small seedlings 

 to trees with a diameter of 3 to 7 inches and a height of 20 to 35 feet. 



'Kohout. Wm. G. Annual Report of Division of Forestry in Pennsylvanij 

 r isitT, pages 107-201. 



