Reprinted from the Bulletin of The New York Botanical Garden, 



Vol. 12, No. 45. 



Hemlock and Its Environment 



I. FIELD RECORDS 



By Barrington Moore, Herbert M. Richards, H. A. Gleason, and A. B. Stout * 



In the spring of 1922 The New York Botanical Garden under- 

 took a study of its hemlock grove and of hemlock forests in 

 general, with a view to determining, so far as possible, the con- 

 ditions under which hemlock grows and the causes of this isolated 

 hemlock forest on the Botanical Garden grounds. The informa- 

 tion would be of value not only in the perpetuation of the hemlock 

 grove but in practical forestry. A fairly comprehensive plan 

 was adopted, calling for field records of climatic conditions, 

 soil investigations, and laboratory experiments under controlled 

 conditions. The work was started, and such instrumental 

 records secured as the limited facilities would permit. It has not 

 yet been possible to commence the soil and laboratory work, 

 although it is hoped that something of a comparatively simple 

 nature may be under way by next winter. Since the field 

 records, though covering but a single season and only a compara- 

 tively small number of environmental factors, are yet a more or 

 less complete unit of the larger project, they are presented by 

 themselves as Part I of the hemlock study. We are fully aware 

 of the fact that we have merely scratched the surface of an 

 extremely interesting and important problem, and hope some 

 day, if the facilities become available, to carry the work further. 



Purpose of Part I of the Study 



The purpose of the first part of the investigation was to find 

 out something of the climatic conditions under which hemlock 

 grows, and the requirements of hemlock for moisture and temper- 

 ature. It was also desirable to ascertain, if possible, the position 

 of hemlock forests in the developmental series of the types of 

 vegetation which occur in the region. Botanists recognize that 



^ Hemlock Committee of The New York Botanical Garden. The Committee 

 gratefully acknowledges the helpful cooperation of the Yale Forest School, the 

 New York State College of Forestry at Syracuse University, and the Department 

 of Forestry of Cornell University. 



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