THE NORTHERN HARDWOODS REGION 27 1 



leading type. A similar relation can often be observed between 

 types of two adjacent forest regions, one or more types being the 

 same in each of the two regions, but their relative importance 

 being vastly different from region to region. 



Sugar maple, beech, and yellow birch are the chief trees, aver- 

 aging together at least sixty per cent of the type (sugar maple, 

 thirty per cent, beech and yellow birch together, thirty per 

 cent), while beech and sugar maple in individual stands often 

 greatly exceed the percentages given, sometimes occurring nearly 

 pure. Other hardwoods constitute about thirty per cent, while 

 conifers do not exceed ten per cent, sometimes being entirely 

 absent, especially in the heavily lumbered stands. Hemlock is 

 the most common conifer. 



On account of the deep fertile soil an excellent quality of 

 timber can be produced. In many cases, however, the best 

 trees have been removed, leaving the defective individuals; thus, 

 at present, there are many poorly stocked stands in the type, 

 which are not producing the quantity nor the quality of timber 

 of which they are capable. 



Excellent reproduction occurs wherever any opening admits 

 light to the forest floor, sugar maple, yellow birch, and beech all 

 being prolific seeders. The maple excels the others, and is gradu- 

 ally increasing in proportion as a result of cutting and subsequent 

 reproduction. White ash reproduces well after cuttings and like 

 the maple is increasing in proportion. In second-growth stands 

 after heavy cuttings some of the reproduction is of sprout 

 origin, but the old hardwoods do not sprout satisfactorily when 

 cut, and the younger trees are only average sprouters in this 

 region. 



The soil cover of deciduous leaves presents an unfavorable 

 condition for the reproduction of conifers, hemlock being the 

 most successful. This is the main reason why the proportion of 

 conifers in the t>^e decreases after a cutting. Both the even- 

 aged and the uneven-aged forms of forest occur in the hardwood 

 type. The virgin stands and those which have been culled over 

 one or more times approach the uneven-aged form. Areas on 



