32 TREE ANCESTORS 



tulip-trce {Liriodendron tidipifera), the cucumber- tree (Magnolia 

 acuminata), the red cedar {Juniperus virginiana), the black gum 

 {J^yssa sylvatica), the sycamore (Platanus occidentalis) , the witch 

 hazel {Hamamelis virginiana), the beech {Fagus atro pnnicea) , 

 and other important deciduous tree species. 



Commercially this region has been the scene of very extensive 

 lumbering operations and its advantageous situation enable it to 

 still furnish an enormous annual production. 



TIIE DECIDUOUS FOREST 



The Deciduous or Hardwood forest area of the Atlantic region 

 extends with varying elements from southern Maine and northern 

 New York to Texas, and from about the fall-line of the South At- 

 lantic Coastal Plain inland across the uplands to the Ohio and the 

 lower Mississippi drainage basins, the western Kmit being deter- 

 mined by the lessened rainfall, the former prevalence of forest 

 fires, the force of the winds and the difficulty of regaining a foot- 

 hold in the compactly sodded prairie region where the geological 

 record shows that a similar forest once held undisputed sway. 

 This western boundary is essentially a broad transition zone, the 

 woodland becoming more and more open and finally becoming 

 restricted to the river bottoms. The extreme western boundary 

 runs through the eastern Dakotas, Nebraska, Kansas, etc., but 

 the actual boundary of the forested area where the woodland covers 

 more than 20 per cent of the area extends from the southern end 

 o^ Lake Michigan, across southern Ilhnois, southeastern Missouri 

 and includes parts of Arkansas, Oklahoma and Texas. Toward 

 both its northern and its southern limits the Deciduous forest is 

 bordered by a transition zone of mixed deciduous and coniferous 

 trees. 



In typical stands the Deciduous forest comprises broad leaved 

 species of oaks, hickories, walnuts, ashes, maples, magnolias, 

 cherry, tulip-tree, sycamore, beech, linn, chestnut, etc. On the 

 slopes of the southern Appalachians, in the valley of the lower 

 Ohio and in the valley of the lower Red River, these deciduous types 

 attain their greatest variety as well as their maximum development. 



