THE SPRUCE 19 
abundant on the moss-covered rocks and logs, and in- 
deed wherever a break in the forest canopy admits suf- 
ficient light. A heavy matting of leaf litter, on the 
other hand, such as is found on hardwood land, seems 
less thoroughly adapted to their requirements, but they 
are found scattered in greater or less numbers almost 
throughout the forest. In small openings, especially 
those made by windfalls, they are most frequent, and 
here they occur in dense groups, growing rapidly under 
the influence of the light. In other still smaller open- 
ings in the forest such groups of greater or less extent 
are very common, and form one of the distinguishing 
features of the reproduction of this tree. In larger 
openings, caused by fire, the return of the Spruce to 
land from which it has been burned away is often slow. 
Commonly it is preceded by a growth of herbaceous 
plants, and vines, followed by Poplar and Bird Cherry, 
and then, when a suitable seed-bed has been prepared 
by the waste from these trees, the return of the Spruce 
itself takes place. 
TOLERANCE 
The fact that young seedlings and small trees are so 
widely distributed through the forest is due in part to 
the ability of this tree to grow under heavy shade. 
This does not mean that the Spruce will not flourish in 
the light, but merely that it is tolerant ot the heavy 
cover which isa distinguishing characteristic of the hard- 
wood forest in the Adirondacks and throughout New 
England. Specimens from too to 150 years old, and 
