REPORT ON THE WASHINGTON FOREST 325 



But it is anything but nonsense. * That there is a considerable forest 

 area in a primitive state in the region bordering on Washington must strike 

 every one at all acquainted with that section. * If the tract is all 

 Mr. Ellicott thinks it is, there is probably no investment of a few million 

 dollars that would be better worth while. To preserve in perpetuity a genuine 

 national forest 150 square miles in extent, within a stone's throw of the 

 national capital, would be an invaluable achievement." 



A REPORT ON THE WASHINGTON FOREST 



By F. W. BESLEY 



State Forester of Maryland 



(A report from surveys, maps and data in the Maryland Forestry Department.) 



^^^=:^HE area proposed for a national forest represents some of the oldest 

 4_J settled lands of the country. Since its occupation 250 years ago many 

 ^^^ changes have taken place. A considerable portion of the land under 

 cultivation prior to the Civil War has since grown up in forest, not alone 

 because of the scarcity of labor necessary for its continued cultivation, but 

 because much of it was found better suited to the growing of timber than for 

 agricultural crops. These young forests of hardwood and pine coming as a 

 second growth have attained considerable importance, and by proper manage- 

 ment they can be moulded into forests of great value. There are still to be 

 found in small tracts some of the virgin forests showing the magnificence of 

 the original growth and further illustrating future forest possibilities. For 

 the botanist and the dendrologist, this is one of the most interesting regions 

 of the eastern United States. Here on the border of two great physiographical 

 divisions, the Coastal Plain and the Piedmont Plateau, the flora of the North 

 mixes with that of the South, and gives a variety of species difficult to find 

 in any other area of equal size. As a natural arboretum, this region is unsur- 

 passed. There are over sixty-five tree species alone, to say nothing of a large 

 number of arborescent shrubs. Most of the valuable commercial species of 

 the entire eastern United States are represented here. The great diversity 

 of soils and forest types offers exceptional advantages as a demonstration 

 field for applied forestry. 



A forest survey of the Maryland counties, partly included in the proposed 

 national forest, was made by the writer in 1907-1910 and furnishes the 

 forest data upon which this report and the accompanying map is based. In 

 establishing a national forest, such as is proposed, it is very desirable to 

 include, as far as possible, lands that are now largely wooded. The large 

 wooded areas, lying between Washington, Baltimore and Annapolis, afford a 

 rare opportunity for carrying out such a plan. The area shown on the map, 

 lying between Washington and the Patuxent River, to the west of the Balti- 

 more and Ohio Railroad, covers approximately 16,000 acres, of which about 

 8,300 acres, or 50 per cent, is now wooded. For the purpose of the forest 

 description, any given area is considered wooded where there is a tree growth 

 on the land at least ten feet high and where the trees are close enough 

 together to form a stand. The main body of forest lying east of the Baltimore 



