IO THE ADIRONDACK SPRUCE 
SPRUCE FLATS 
These are level and rolling flats, usually near ponds 
and swamp lands. The soil as a rule is fresh and deep, 
although frequently the ground is covered with glacial 
boulders. The humus is fairly deep and the leaf-litter 
thick. The Spruce is of medium height and usually ot 
medium diameter, with an occasional veteran of very 
large proportions. 
On areas covered with rocks, and where the soil is 
moist, the danger from windfall is considerable. The 
second-growth after these windfalls is frequently Birch 
and Soft Maple. 
The trees in mixture on Spruce Flats are Birch, the 
Maples, Beech, Hemlock, Balsam, White Pine, Cherry, 
and Ash. 
Like the Spruce, the Birch is here of a quality and 
development intermediate between that of the higher 
ground and that found in swamps. 
These flats form the lower limit of the Hard Maple. 
Itis common on higher ground, but on the lower and 
moister flats it gives way to Soft Maple. The Hard 
Maple is here inferior in quality to that found on high 
lands. Here, as elsewhere in the Park, the Soft Maple 
is very unsound. On the higher flats Beech of excellent 
quality iscommon on good soil ; on the lower land it is 
unsound and of inferior development. Some of the 
best Hemlock in the Park occurs on Spruce flats, es- 
pecially. where the soil is fresh and not far above the 
level of streams and ponds. The Balsam for the most 
part is small, and other species have little importance. 
