ASSOCIATED TREES 25 
a marked tendency to associate in groups. Birch re- 
produces itself prolifically. The seed germinates better 
on moss-covered soil than where there is a thick layer 
of leaf litter. It is frequently abundant in windfalls. 
Thus, on Spruce flats, after windfalls, Birch with Soft 
Maple often forms the second-growth. It is common on 
Spruce slopes. 
The average rate of growth was found to be, for the 
78 trees measured, one inch in diameter in twenty 
years. Youngtrees are plentiful, and, as in the case of 
Spruce, there is a regular gradation in. number of trees 
from the small to the large diameters. 
BEECH 
The Beech (Fagus americana, Ait.) reaches a diam- 
eter of nearly three feet, and in dense stands produces 
a long, clear, smooth trunk and a narrow compact 
crown. In its choice of soil and situation it is moder- 
ately fastidious. It reaches its best development on 
moderate northeastern slopes, where it often occurs in 
nearly pure patches. On high land it is abundant, and 
it is found also on Spruce flats, and even in some marshy 
situations. It is extremely unsound on low ground, 
and indeed throughout the forest the proportion of 
unsound Beech is large. 
It reproduces itself abundantly. Young trees spring 
up in dense thickets where the hardwood forest is 
thinned, and are capable of living under heavy shade. 
Compared to other hardwoods the growth in diameter 
is fairly rapid. The average current rate of growth for 
