REPORT ON FORESTS. 51 



growth of chestnut and oak, mixed with a good deal of red 

 cedar. There are also a few white pines on the western slope of 

 this ridge. Along the highway from Warrenville to Meadville, 

 at the edge of the Pequest meadows, there is some of the finest 

 timber which was observed in this region, of chestnut, oak and 

 hickory, from 10 to 30 inches in diameter and 50 to 60 feet high. 

 One piece of about 50 acres, near the head of the small swamp > 

 has been cut within two years. A good deal of the timber on 

 the end of Cat mountain, west of Petersburgh, has been recently 

 cut ; what remains is from 8 to 16 inches in diameter, and from 

 30 to 50 feet high, but it is scattering and mixed with small 

 growth. At the head of the stream, just northeast of Peters- 

 burgh, there are a number of tamarack trees. Agriculturally, 

 this section about holds its own. There is not any important 

 lapsing back of cultivated land into forest, and while the smaller 

 houses are allowed to go into decay, the land continues to be 

 farmed as before. It was noted that the end of the ridge, 

 extending westerly and southwesterly from Alamuche pond to 

 Meadville, is badly washed just north of the latter place near 

 the small mill-pond. The bed-rook seems to lie close to the 

 surface and the soil washes off. Such land should be left in 

 forest, as it must become less and less valuable for agricultural 

 purposes. 



The region above described constitutes the glaciated portion 

 of that section of the Highlands which we described as the 

 Alamuche-Pohatcong range in the physical description of the 

 State, Vol. I, 1888. 



Continuing westerly, we cross the Pequest meadows, which 

 are not strictly a part of the Highlands, but lie within the dis- 

 trict. They contain much heavy timber, all deciduous, and of 

 many varieties, but some of the best has been cut during the 

 building of the I^ehigh and Hudson River railroad, and since that 

 time. On Mount Mohepinoke, west of Townsbury, less than half 

 the area is forested. The timber varies from 2 to 14 inches in 

 diameter, and from 15 to 50 feet in height, being generally good 

 timber and containing some large trees, from 14 to 24 inches in 

 diameter and 35 to 60 feet high. The under-growth is quite 

 thick, and there are red cedars near Townsbury on some 

 abandoned pasture and stump land. Near Pequest mines some 



