FORESTRY SURVEY 287 



and so they are given some opportunity for reproduction. 

 Xoue of the vellow silt loam soil should ever be cleared 

 under any circumstances, for clearing allows erosion to 

 set in and the result is apt to be disastrous. For instance, 

 there is a field in section 5 which is rapidly being destroyed 

 by having deep furrows and ravines cut into it by eroding 

 floods. This could never have happened if the forest had 

 not been removed. 



The heech-maplc-rcd oak association (35 and 35.2). 

 This is a xerarch-mesophytic forest association, which 

 means that it is a mesophytic forest which was developed 

 from, or was preceded by. a more xerophytic forest. The 

 dominant trees are either beech (Fagus grandifoUa) and 

 hard maple (Acer sacchanim), or hard maple and red oak 

 (Que)xus rubra) or sometimes all three of these species. 

 This is the association that formerly covered all of the 

 yellow gray silt loam soil and is the climax type of forest 

 in this region btit, as the map indicates, it has mostly dis- 

 appeared and only a few small patches, some of which are 

 very thin, remain. It is probable that these patches also 

 will soon entirely disappear, since the soil occupied by 

 them is all suitable for cultivation. In this partictilar 

 region there is very little beech, but it is obviotis that 

 there was formerly much more and that its infrequency 

 now is due to the fact that it has stiffered more from cut- 

 ting than has either maple or oak. The little patch of this 

 association near the sotitheast corner of section 9 is an 

 almost ptire stand of hard maple, nearly all other trees 

 having been cut out. In other cases, however, the dom- 

 inant species are accompanied by greater or lesser num- 

 bers of the following: basswood (TiVia americana), white 

 elm (Uhnifs americana J, white ash (Fra.riniis americana), 

 wild black cherry (Prunus serotina), black, white and 

 shingle oaks (Quercus veliitina, Q. aiha and Q. imhri- 

 cariu), butternut (Jiiglans cinerea), walnut (Juglans 

 nigra), Kentticky coffee tree (Gi/mnocladiis dioica) and 

 ironwood (Ostrya virginiana). 



The hassicood-ehn association (38 and 38.2). This is 

 the hydrarch-mesophytic forest association, having de- 

 veloped from a more hydrophytic type, and formerly occu- 

 pied all of the brown silt loam soil. Like the xerarch 

 mesophytic forest it has nearly all disappeared and the 

 few remnants probably will not be left much longer. The 



