252 



THE FORESTER. 



November, 



ing bases, long lines of precipitous cliffs, 

 deep, narrow valleys, darkly shaded coves 

 and hollows, " rock-houses," abrupt " pin- 

 nacles," and " rock-castles " fairly startle 

 the traveller at every turn. Above all this 

 stretches away the level plateau of the 

 coal-measures, but gashed and furrowed 

 on all sides by the ragged valleys leading 

 to the lower level. A difference in alti- 

 tude of five or six hundred feet in half a 

 mile is no unusual thing. The resulting 

 character of the roads and their effect on 

 the price of lumber and farm crops, not to 

 mention the effect on social life and edu- 

 cation, I leave to your imagination. As 

 climate has everything to do with repro- 

 duction and growth of trees, this must not 

 escape mention. 



This is a region of abundant rainfall, 

 the precipitation being from forty to fifty 

 inches annually. Four months, from De- 

 cember to the first of April, amount almost 

 to a rainy period. While occasional ex- 

 tremes of cold, when the mercury regis- 

 ters from 20 to 25 degrees occur, weather 

 above the freezing point is the rule, so that 

 the Winters are a succession of drizzling 

 rains, mild freezes, wet snows, thaws and 

 bright weather. A period of considerable 

 dryness may be looked for from some time 

 from June to September, though very 

 heavy rainfalls may occur in that time. 



I have been thus particular in describing 

 the year's climate because it is to the gen- 

 erally wet, open character of the Winters 

 that I attribute the prolific growth of seed- 

 ling trees of a great number of varieties. 

 Where acorns will germinate uncovered 

 on the surface of a compact clay soil, the 

 conditions as to moisture and temperature 

 may be considered good. 



The lower Devonian and border Silu- 

 rian lands were originally covered with 

 a dense growth of the different Black 

 Oaks, some White Oak, Black and Sweet 

 Gum, Cherry, Sassafras of great size, 

 Scarlet Maple and other species. On 

 higher ridges more White Oak was found, 

 some Chestnut, many Hickories of several 

 species, large numbers of Pine, a mixture 

 of P. virginiana, or Jersey Scrub Pine, 

 but here a tree often seventy-five feet high 

 and two feet in diameter with P. echinata, 



the short Yellow Pine of the western 

 States. 



The most valuable of this growth has 

 been cut out and sawed, but much still re- 

 mains. In the valleys among the hills, 

 on the benches and in the heads of the 

 rich coves is found a mixed hardwood 

 growth of great value. White Chinqua- 

 pin, Red and Black Oak, four species of 

 Hickory, Beech, Soft and Sugar Maple, 

 Buckeye, Basswood and Ash grow to fine 

 size and unusual height, the density of the 

 growth and the steepness of the slope 

 both forcing them up in search of light. 

 Higher up, above the grit-rock, lie the 

 ridges clothed with the Chestnut and its 

 close associate, the Chestnut Oak or Tan- 

 bark, yi(ercus fir inns. 



What I shall call Old Field No. 1 lies 

 one-and-one-half miles southeast of Berea. 

 The soil is a compact yellow clay over 

 black Devonian shale. The surrounding' 

 growth is the usual mixture of these lands 

 the Black, Scarlet and Spanish Oaks, 

 some White Oak, Hickories of four spe- 

 cies, Soft Maple, Gum and two species of 

 Pine. The field is about fifty rods long by 

 thirty rods wide. It had been cultivated 

 a good many years, how long I could not 

 learn, and was turned out "about fifteen 

 years ago," but w T as not pastured, as is so 

 often the case. 



The stand of young Pines upon this is. 

 complete, excepting a short distance on 

 the washed banks of a little draw. The 

 growth is almost wholly Pinns virginiana, 

 or the " Black Pine," the local name, with 

 a slight mixture, not 10% of Pinus echi- 

 nata, or Yellow Pine. There are also a 

 few Oaks, Hickories and such, but their 

 number is insignificant. 



An average specimen of Black Pine was 

 cut as close to the ground as possible and was 

 found to show twelve rings of growth and 

 to be four and one-half inches in diameter. 

 This was twenty-seven feet high, was clear- 

 ing itself of branches for a few feet only, 

 many dead ones still adhering to the tree. 

 An average specimen of Yellow Pine 

 gave practically the same dimensions, but 

 was straighter and cleaner in trunk, being 

 clear of branches for half its length. 

 What the growth was surrounding this 



