GREAT LAKE REGION 85 



of beech, two of hornbeam, two of walnut, and four of 

 hickory (allied to the walnut), are common forest trees, 

 in addition to several kinds of maple, plane, ash, and 

 lime. The white elm is the tallest and strongest of all 

 Canadian trees, barring the Weymouth and other pines. 

 This gives a wealth of timber quite unknown to western 

 Europe. The lumber industry is well developed, perhaps 

 too well for the proper preservation of the forests, 

 whose existence is now seriously threatened by the axe 

 and the paper-pulp mill, which enjoy the advantage of 

 unlimited water-power. Another activity is fur-hunting, 

 which has its great market centre in Montreal. The 

 poorer soil and the more rainy climate of eastern Canada 

 do not allow that region to compete in the growth of 

 cereals with the more generous and sunny West. On 

 the other hand, it favours the development of good 

 pastures, and consequently of mixed and dairy farming, 

 and the cultivation of fruit of a northern and temperate 

 type. The summer-green forests in southern Canada 

 and New England are remarkable for the extraordinary 

 brilliancy of their autumn colours, the sugar maple 

 being quite exceptional in that respect ; and the humbler 

 vegetation, while much richer than that of our country, 

 is very similar in aspect and in mode of life. 



Appalachian Region. South of the great coniferous 

 belt is a vast region, the core of which is formed by the 

 mountain system of the Appalachians. It is, or was, 

 almost entirely forest-clad, and the type of its forests is 

 the summer-green, broad-leaf variety, with an admixture 

 of conifers. 



An abundant rainfall all the year round, moderate 

 winds and temperature, and a soil on the whole fairly 

 rich, offer conditions which are admirably suited to a 

 heavy tree-growth of the most luxuriant mild-temperate 



