312 FORESTRY IN NEW ENGLAND 



for cordwood. Yields of good grade timber can, however, be 

 secured from stands containing chestnut, oak, and white ash, 

 if not cut too young. 



7. Soft Maple Swamp. — The type is somewhat similar to the 

 hardwood swamps of the northern hardwoods region, though apt 

 to be more even-aged in form and to contain a greater per cent of 

 soft maple sprouts. Wet, swampy land is, of course, the situa- 

 tion on which the type grows. 



Pure stands of soft maple are often in evidence, and always 

 soft maple is the chief tree. The associated species of impor- 

 tance are black ash, yellow birch, swamp white oak, and elm. 

 A great difference in character of growth can be observed be- 

 tween individual stands. Where soft maple is purest the growth 

 is often rapid and the stands present a thrifty appearance. In 

 other instances the same poor and stunted growth of soft maple, 

 black ash, and yellow birch in open stands apparent in so many 

 swamps in the northern hardwoods region is seen. Variation 

 in moisture and soil conditions of the swamp accounts for these 

 differences in growth. 



The best swamps of pure soft maple will produce a yield of at 

 least one cord of fuelwood per acre per annum. 



The type is classed as a temporary one because of its sprout 

 origin. 



8. Waste Land. — On the sandier soils, where the stands were 

 pure conifers or nearly pure, cuttings, followed by fires, have 

 often resulted in leaving the land bare of any forest growth. 

 This has rarely been the case where hardwoods were in mixture, 

 as these species continued to sprout even under severe treatment. 



Enough of this kind of land exists to warrant it being listed 

 as a separate type. The soils are among the poorer class and 

 are true forest soils, although now bare. 



The land is usually covered with such plants as scrub oak, 

 grass, ferns, and various shrubs, but not with trees. In some 

 cases, as, for example, in southeastern Massachusetts, areas of 

 almost bare sand can be found. 



The type is the most worthless of any in New England^ 



