FOREST CONDITIONS IN DELAWARE. 17 



tree and with other oaks, hickory, and chestnut in mixture. Growth 

 on this latter type is much slower than on the usual slope type, of 

 which it is a variation. 



In the Coastal Plain hardwood region there are a few tracts of 

 woodland over 100 acres in extent, but the forest occurs usually in 

 small woodlots of 20 acres or so in area. There are two general forest 

 types distinguishable in this region : one occurs on low, flat, wet land, 

 more or less swampy, and the other on better drained land with some 

 little variation in elevation and topography. Sweet gum is the char- 

 acteristic tree of the former type which is usually known as "gum 

 swamp," and red maple, tulip poplar, pin, willow, and cow oaks are 

 the most common associates, with often some white and red oak, and 

 chestnut in drier portions of the swamp. White, red and black oaks 

 are the characteristic trees found on the better drained sites which may 

 be called the "oak type;" other species occurring on this type include 

 hickory, chestnut, tulip poplar, sweet and black gum, red maple, and 

 black jack oak, with sassafras and dogwood as undergrowth. Dogwood 

 and blue beech are very common as undergrowth in the swamp type. 



The mixed pine and hardwood region on the Coastal Plain has 

 nearly two and a half times the wooded area of the other two forest 

 regions combined and so, from a forestal standpoint, is the most im- 

 portant part of the State. The forest area of the region is about half 

 in large tracts over 100 acres in extent and half in smaller woodlots. 

 The soil averages much more sandy, and the land is poorer than in the 

 other regions, and for this reason a smaller per cent of the land is 

 under cultivation. Originally there was very little pine in the region 

 and the same types prevailed as in the Coastal hardwood region. Lum- 

 bering the forests and clearing the land for agriculture have greatly 

 increased the amount of pine and extended its range much farther 

 north. There are large areas of ' ' gum swamp, ' ' and also considerable 

 of the "oak type" in this region, in both of which more or less pine 

 often occurs in mixture with the hardwoods. 



The most common pine type is a pure or nearly pure growth of 

 loblolly. Then there is loblolly pine mixed in various degrees with 

 hardwoods, chiefly oak, and with short-leaf and spruce pines. There 

 are also considerable areas of pure spruce pine in the northern and 

 western portions of the pine region. 

 New Castle County 



About one-fourth of the county lies in the Piedmont Plateau re- 

 gion and the rest in the Atlantic Coastal Plain. There are slightly 



