INTRODUCTION. 



The object of this report is to present a complete Hst of the 

 native plants known to grow in the coastal plain region of New 

 Jersey, or, more exactly,- in that part of the State lying south of 

 the northern boundaries of Burlington and Monmouth counties, 

 together with an outline of their distribution within this area 

 and some account of the characteristics, habitat and history of 

 the more important species. 



The demand for such a report is threefold : 



(i.) It supplies to teachers and students a local botany, to be 

 used in conjunction with the general botanical manual, which 

 m.ust be in the hands of all; showing them exactly which of the 

 plants described in the more general work are to be found in 

 southern New Jersey, and in what sections they should be looked 

 for. 



(2.) It presents to botanists of New Jersey and elsewhere a 

 study in geographical distribution, which may be used in connec- 

 tion with similar reports from other parts of the country in 

 solving the more general problems of the distribution of life. 



(3.) It places on permanent record the present condition and 

 history of one of the most interesting botanical areas in the 

 United States; which is still one of the most extensive areas in 

 the Middle States left in primeval condition, but which is rapidly 

 undergoing the inevitable changes incident to deforestation, cul- 

 tivation and settlement — the Pine Barrens of New Jersey. 



LIFE ZONES AND ElvORAL BEETS OE EASTERN NORTH AMERICA.* 



It was the original intention to consider in this report only 

 the flora of the Pine Barrens, but it soon became evident that a 



* Cf. C. Hart Merriam, Geographic Distribution of Life in North America, 

 Proc. Biol. Soc. Wash., VII, 1-64, 1892. Laws of Temperature Control of 

 the Geographic Distribution of Terrestrial Animals and Plants, Nat. Geog. 

 Mag., 1894, 229-238. Geographic Distribution of Animals and Plants in 

 North America, Year Book U. S. Dept. Agr. 1894, 203-214. 



J. A. Allen, Geographic Distribution of North American Mammals, Bull. 

 Amer. Mus. Nat. Hist., XIV, 199-244, 1892. 



(39) 



