1902. 



FORESTRY AND IRRIGATION. 



407 



FIG. 2. GENERAI, VIEW SHOWING CHARACTER OF LANDS IN THE MICHIGAN 



FOREST RESERVE. 



have been lumbered. It was found 

 that Beech and Hard Maple together 

 formed 80 per cent of the stand in the 

 hardwood forests, and Hemlock 1 1 per 

 cent. On cut-over hardwood lands, 

 Pin Cherry holds the first place in the 

 second growth for the time being, while 

 the representation of Maple and Beech 

 together is reduced to 28 per cent. 



Fig. 2 shows the character of the 

 countr}' included in the reserve, and 

 gives a rough idea of the distribution of 

 the types described. It was taken from 

 the top of an oak ridge looking across 

 an oak flat, pine plains, and scattered 

 swamps to an oak ridge and hardwood 

 land on the northern border of the re- 

 serve. 



The effect of fires may be summarized 

 as follows : the plains (Fig. 3) are more 

 subject to fires than an}' other type. 

 The deep sandy soil dries out quickly 

 after a rain, and during a drouth, espe- 

 cially before or after the growing season, 

 the accumulation of vegetable material 

 becomes very inflammable. Pine seed- 

 lings germinate easilv and in great num- 

 bers on the warm sands, but are largel}' 

 killed by fire. The Jack Pine, by virtue 

 of its remarkably prolific seeding, its re- 

 sistance to fire, and its ability to grow on 

 the poorest soil, does more under pres- 



ent conditions to restock the plains than 

 any other species. 



On sprout land, both on oak flats and 

 oak ridges, the heavy fall of leaves and 

 twigs affords abundant food for fire. 

 The fierce fires which burned in the 

 slashing left by lumbering, killed the 

 oak which grew beneath the pines in 

 the virgin forest. They sprouted free!}' 

 from the roots, however, onl}' to be 

 killed back again by later fires. With 

 repeated fires the growth becomes thin- 

 ner and thinner and the sprouts more 

 scrubby and stunted. 



Swamps burn over only in exception- 

 ally dr}' times, but when fire does pene- 

 trate a swamp it burns in the deep peat 

 and is very destructive. 



The effect of repeated fires on the 

 ground cover is to eliminate differences 

 due to different soils, and to reduce the 

 cover on all situations to a few plants 

 which resist burning. Characteristic 

 plants are sweet ferns, blueberries, 

 sedges, and dr}' land grasses, golden- 

 rod, aster, etc. On the ridges grass 

 and weeds are shaded out and give way 

 to stunted oak sprouts. 



Early lumbering left seed trees enough 

 to reseed cut-over lands without the aid 

 of planting, but the trees are ra])idly 

 disappearing before wind, fire, and theft. 



