572 



FORESTRY AND IRRIGATION 



December 



ficient time elapsed for second growth 

 of any size to develop. What little 

 virgin forest there is in Maryland is 

 located in inaccessible parts of this re- 

 gion. "The prevailing growth is de- 

 ciduous, but this is conspicuously min- 

 gled with patches and often large 

 areas of conifers.*' "The peculiar 

 position of western Maryland, inter- 

 mediate between North and South, 

 gives the region a forest flora rich in 

 species, "* there being in all upward of 

 seventy distinct tree species. "Coni- 

 fers and hardwoods of the middle 



system of lumbering which has lately 

 been inaugurated in the region. Trees 

 of nearly all species down to very 

 small sizes are used for mine props 

 and lagging. The prevailing forest 

 condition is that of cut-over virgin 

 forest covered with a scattering 

 growth of large defective trees not 

 suitable for lumber, interspersed with 

 reproduction of hardwood sprouts and 

 seedlings and occasional patches of 

 coniferous reproduction. The preva- 

 lence of fires following the severe lum- 

 bering has greatly deteriorated the 



Photo by U. S. Forest Service. 



Typical Willow Bottomland; Howard County, Maryland. 



south and north mingle here almost 

 on the same ground."* The impor- 

 tant timber trees occurring in the re- 

 gion include the conifers white pine, 

 hemlock, spruce, pitch, and short-leaf 

 pines, and the hardwoods red, white, 

 and chestnut oaks, chestnut, tulip, pop- 

 lar, basswood, birch, beech, and maple. 

 \ T early all the merchantable conifer- 

 ous trees have already been culled 

 from the forests of this region, and 

 the hardwoods are now rapidly being 

 cleaned out under the highly intensive 



*Alle^any County Report. 



quality of the reproduction and sec- 

 ond growth, so that the outlook for a 

 valuable future crop is at present not 

 bright. 



2. The Piedmont Plateau. This 

 comprises about 30 per cent of the 

 land area of the state. It is a fertile 

 region of rolling hills, with a general 

 variation in altitude of 100 to 500 feet 

 above sea, and extends from the Ap- 

 palachian Region to Chesapeake Bay. 

 It is the most lightly wooded part of 

 Maryland, and the lumber industry is 



