272 FORESTRY IN NEW ENGLAND 



which clear cutting or a very heavy cutting has been practiced 

 are now stocked with approximately even-aged stands. In some 

 cases such stands are extremely regular and even-aged in form. 



2. Swamp. — This is not a type of large area and is of only 

 minor commercial importance. The name indicates the charac- 

 ter of the site on which the type occurs, the most unfavorable for 

 tree growth to be found in the region. The type may be divided 

 into two sub-types: {a) hardwood swamp, and {h) softwood 

 swamp. 



(a) The hardwood swamp is the more important of the two. 

 Originally there were some conifers in most of the swamps, but 

 cutting has excluded them from many stands. Black ash and 

 soft maple are the most abundant and important hardwoods 

 though neither of them can be classed as high-grade timber trees; 

 and the excessive water supply prevents the best growth. Re- 

 production is poor and confined largely to sprouts. 



{h) The softwood swamp is similar to that of the spruce 

 region, except that it contains a greater per cent of hardwoods. 

 Spruce, balsam, and tamarack are the chief conifers. Arbor- 

 vitae is not a common tree in this type. With the softwoods 

 there is a mixture of black ash, soft maple, and other hardwoods. 

 The conifers here originally furnished considerable merchantable 

 material, but they have been largely removed and hardwood 

 reproduction rather than softwood has followed. It is much 

 harder for softwoods to reproduce in the swamp type here than 

 in the spruce region, because of the large percentage of hardwoods 

 in the stand, resulting in unfavorable seed-bed conditions for 

 the conifers. 



3. Birch and Poplar. — This temporary type is similar to 

 the type of the same name in the spruce region, but is rela- 

 tively of much less importance in this region. Its distribution 

 does not depend on any particular kind of soil or situation, 

 but on the location of burned-over areas. A recent burn with 

 the mineral soil exposed and plenty of light admitted is apt to 

 reproduce to stands of this type, which are composed chiefly 

 of paper and yellow birch and poplar. Under these intolerant 



