62 THE WUITE PINE. 



NATURAL REPRODUCTION. 



The White Piue reproduces itself readily in thu virgin forest on all sandy and loamy sand 

 soils where the hardwoods do not interfere. On these areas thickets of youuf; growth, sapling 

 timber, and dense groves of mature trees are scattered without regularity, and there is no indica- 

 tion that this piue forest has undergone material change for centuries. lu the hardwood districts 

 of the heavier soils of the Lake region, where the pine is met with chietiy as old. overrijje timber, 

 the reproduction of the i)ine seems, temporarily at least, to be interfered with by the associated 

 growth. Large, old trees occur, thiidy scattered or in clusters, but sapling timber and young 

 growth is often entirely wanting over considerable areas. .Similar conditions prevail, or have pre- 

 vailed, in the mountains of Pennsylvania, aud also in New England and in the Adirondacks. 

 Where the pine is cut and some seed trees are left the ground soon covers itself with young growth. 

 This, contrary to the common notion, is true even where lire has run over the slashings and the 

 ground for a time is stocked with Poi)lar and other brush. Such groves or thickets of young i)ine 

 occur in all i)arts of the pinery of the Lake region, and in tlie aggregate cover .several hundred 

 thousand acres. Cleuerally, however, the tire returns from time to time, the youug seedlings, as 

 well as the mother trees, are finally all destroyed, aud thus the reproduction is completely pre- 

 vented. On such lands, impoverished by tire and exposure to sun aud wind, not even the Poplar 

 returns. lu the hardwood, iSpruce, and llendock regions the cutting of the piue in the usual 

 manner simply assists its competitors, and its reproduction is seriously hampered ami frequently 

 prevented altogether. Where these clay and loam lands are completely cleared and then aban- 

 doned, as has been the case with thousands of acres of New I'higland forests, the White J'ine is 

 one of the tirst to return if any seed trees exist in the vicinity. Huudreds of groves have sprung 

 up in New England in this way. 



NOTES ON NATURAL REPRODUCTION. 



A case of the kind above referred to was observed in 1S8G in York County. Me., and the 

 following notes on the subject will, no doubt, prove of interest: 



lu company with llr. John E. Hobbs, who is thoroughly familiar with the history of the various pieces of 

 fore8t>examiiied, a visit was maile to a number of places on which White Piue was growing, others ou which young 

 piue seedlings were coming iu, and still others in the immediate vicinity where none were to be seen, although the 

 general conditions of soil and situation were practically identical. Tlic soil, much of it, vas light aud saudy, with 

 a growth oi Comptonia, Plerix, Ciiiilllnria, ami other plants conminn on pine land. 



A large number of trees had a crop of cones, the last year before this visit iu which there was a good crop 

 having been 1879, according to Mr. llobbs. Going first to an open field that was formerly covered with piue trees, 

 it was found to be very thickly covered with youug seedlings, from a few inches to 2 feet or more in height, 

 that had sprung up iu such abuudance that a bare spot was hardly to be .seen over the whole tract. This piece was 

 cut over in the winter of 1879-SO, the ground was not Imrned over, aud there being a good crop of seeds, these 

 had grown promptly and a young forest was rapidly coming ou to taUe the place of the one removed. 



I In going to other |)ieces in the vicinity, from which the piue had been cut at dilVereut times since 1879, a most 

 striking contrast was observed. On these jiieces that seemed otherwi.so just like the lirst, aud with the conditions 

 just as favorable for a second growth, ouly a very few pine seedlings were to be seen. These few may have come 

 from seeds carried by wind from the neighboring forests, but evidently the ground had not been seeded as the first 

 piece ha<l, and it was impossible not to draw the conclusiou that the difference was due simply to the fact that the 

 first piece was fully seeded, while the others were not. Ke])eated observations of similar pieces of laud led further 

 to the conclusiou that no dependence can be placed upon the spriuging up of seeds that have lain dormant in the 

 ground for a term of years; or, iu other words, althongli the seeds of the White I'ine retain their vitality for a long 

 time if kept ill a dry jilace, there is a lack of evidence to show that this is the case iu the natural forest, where they 

 are alternately dry and wet. 



Other iuteresting conditions of growth were noticed in the same region. In the vicinity of standing pine 

 forests, particularly on their leew.-ird side, seedlings of ditbreiit jiges were coming up, often very thickly, but upon 

 entering the forest, after the lirst 2 or 3 rods, no more of these were to lie seen, their growth having evidently been 

 prevented by the dense shade of the standing trees. In hanlwoods. on the other hand, where the surroundings were 

 a little more favorable, some youug pines were growing here aud there. 



All observations reenforced the truth that there is no mysterious succession of forest growth, involving uecessary 

 alternations, and that the White I'im- does actually grow and flourish for an indefinite number of generations ou 

 the same laud, if only the necessary seeding has been insured. 



In such regions as have Just been described reforesting with the White I'ine is a comparatively simple matter. 

 AA here nothing more is done than to take advantage of natural conditions by felling the tri'cs in seed years, or by 

 leaving seed trees here and there, an abundant crop of youug pines may often be secured. As a matter of fact, large 



