268 FORESTRY IN NEW ENGLAND 



hill he would see a country dotted with cleared land and wooded 

 areas. 



The forest may be characterized as a mixed hardwood 

 growth of tolerant trees. Conifers occur in small proportion 

 only, usually as scattered individuals or on swampy lands, or 

 abandoned fields. The greater part of the land now forested 



Fig. gi. — The higher hills are wooded, while the upper portions of the valk\s usuallj are 

 cleared. Mt. Equinox, Vermont, in background. 



has never been entirely cleared of its growth, but has usually 

 been culled of the larger and better trees. This style of cutting 

 assisted by the natural tolerance of the chief species has resulted 

 in forming stands of uneven age, which is the characteristic form 

 of the forest. Small bodies of virgin timber still remain. 



Sugar maple is the predominant tree and finds here its opti- 

 mum range in the United States,^ alone forming from twenty- 

 five to seventy-five per cent of the forest growth over consider- 

 able areas with a steadily increasing proportion. Beech and 

 yellow birch are the two species next in importance; these three 



^ The optimum range for sugar maple occurs in Canada in the Province of 

 Ontario. 



