> DECIDUOUS FOREST 459 



covered with luxuriant prairie in its natural state, where- 

 as the so-called Great Plains in the western part have 

 a much sparser covering of bunch grass. 



Deciduous Forest (Fig. 125). — In this region the 

 climate is temperate, with precipitation well distributed 

 through the year. The winters are cold, snow often lies 

 on the ground for considerable periods, and the ground 



Fig. 124. — Forest of White Pine, one of the most characteristic 

 trees of the Northwestern Coniferous forest. The lower branches 

 have been killed by the dense shade cast by the upper foliage. 



freezes to a considerable depth. All of these climatic con- 

 ditions make it a region where growth is greatly favored 

 in summer and at a very low ebb in winter. In general 

 the soil is fertile and suited to the growth of the highest 

 type of vegetation. The forests consist of beech, maple, 

 oak, tulip tree, and many others characterized by having: 

 broad thin leaves able to do a maximum amount of 

 photosynthesis during the warm moist summers but unfit 

 to endure the winter (Fig. 126). The term deciduous re- 

 fers to the fact that they shed their leaves on the ap- 

 proach of winter and thus present only bare branches dur- 

 ing the inclement season. It is not to be understood that 



