512 



ECOLOGICAL CLASSIFICATION OF PLANTS 



formation as to what plants can be successfully grown on a 

 given area. There are instances, as in case of some of the wild 

 lands of the West, where a study of the societies of wild plants 

 has suggested the kind of crop plants best adapted to the condi- 

 tions. It is quite probable that more extended studies in Ecol- 

 ogy in connection with soil analyses will reveal such a close 



FIG. 463. A lake which is being rapidly filled up by the accumulation 

 of vegetable matter. Swamp societies consisting of clumps of Rushes, Sedges, 

 and Sagittarias are most conspicuous about the water. Further back are 

 swamp Grasses grading into mesophytic Grasses, and finally on the ridge, 

 as shown by the corn field and trees, a typical mesophytic condition prevails. 

 After C. M. King. 



association of plant societies and the chemical and physical 

 characteristics of soils that the chemical and physical differ- 

 ences of soils on different farms or in different parts of the same 

 farm may be quite accurately judged by observing the societies 

 of weeds and other wild plants. In reforesting a given area it 

 is very essential to take into consideration the plant societies 

 adapted to the region. For example, it would be unwise to plant 

 Pines on bare sand dunes, or Maples where Black Oaks, which 

 grow in much drier situations than Maples, prevail. 



