etc. Man has seldom intentionally disturlied this "Hudsonian"" type of 

 vegetation and fires have mostly missed it as indicated hy the great age of 

 the scrubby trees. One virgin stand of full-sized trees of Picca nthciis and 

 Abies balsainca is still extant on the upper reaches of Nancy Brook cover- 

 ing 1.000 acres, and there is still a virgin area in the eastern part of Pitts- 

 burg which may, however, be luniberecl within a few years. A much smaller 

 stand consisting of 20 acres of ]:)rimeval forest and known as the Pisgah 

 tract is to be found in Winchester. This forest, consisting chiefly of Tsiif/a 

 and Pinus Strobns, was blown down in 1938. but has not been logged. 



At low elevations throughout the state there are acid bogs which are 

 vegetational counterparts of the high mountains. As sources of peat and 

 of gravels from their environs, bogs are vulnerable but thus far have been 

 little afifected by civilization. Mostly thev liarbor scattered and dwarfed 

 trees of Picca niariana and Larix laricina, along with a dense growth of 

 low heaths in a matrix of sphagnum. 



River gravels offer an unstable footing for several s]:)ecies of Sali.v that 

 are mostly confined to such places. Sali.v interior, in jiarticular, is restrict- 

 ed to river gravels, along with Pnmiis clcprcssa. Sand dunes along the 

 coast similarly offer a cf)ntinually shifting kind of habitat where certain 

 characteristic shrubs occur, such as Pniuus inarifinia. Myrica pcnsylvanica, 

 and Hudsonia toiuciifosa. It is likeK- that both river gravels and dunes 

 have changed but little in vegetation since the advent of the white man. 



The only remaining habitats of woody plants that seem to have escaped 

 destruction through the recent centuries are talus slopes with their scat- 

 tered thickets of Coruiis riigosa, Rhus radica)is, and Celastnis scaiidcns. 



Historical accounts of the original forests are not numerous and contain 

 inaccuracies, but do provide some clues as to the nature of the original 

 forest in southern New Hampshire. The study of forest changes or suc- 

 cessions going on now or which have taken place in recent time help us 

 even more to draw reasonal^le inferences as to the nature of the character- 

 i;;tic virgin forest of each of the several floristic i)arts of the state. A very 

 few protected stands of old, but not primeval forest, such as the "College 

 Woods" in Durham, and several other small tracts scattered about in New 

 Hampshire also provide a valuable point of reference to judge the changes 

 going on so raj^idly in managed forests and woodlots elsewhere in the state. 



Proceeding from north to south we find that in the northern part of 

 Coos County, from Jefferson and ^lilan northwards, on mountain slopes 

 and flats, the dominant forest consisted of Picca rubciis, P. glaiica. and 

 Abies balsamea. Some Pinus Strobus and other soft woods are mixed with 

 these. Hardwoods, with Fa(/us. BcfuJa lut'ca. and .leer saceharuin predomi- 

 nating, were found on the intermediate slopes. Natural openings contained 

 species less tolerant of shade, such as Bctula papyrijera. Prunus pcnsyl- 

 vanica, and Pyrus aincrieana. The undergrowth consisted of shade-tolerant 

 shrubs, such as Ta.vus and Jlbunium species. 



Below this, as far south as the southern limit of the area occupied by 

 the higher of the White Mountains, on a line across the state through the 

 middle of Carroll and most of Grafton counties, the forest was made up 

 of varying mixtures of Picca rubeiis. Pinus Strobus. Abies, and hard- 

 woods. Picca glauca, a nK)re northern species, was lacking. Qucrcus rubra 

 was scarce — the other oaks and hickories were non-existent. Individuals 

 of Pinus Strobus were well distributed, but not found in pure stands as at 



