THE SPROUT HARDWOODS REGION 



353 



Poplar, soft maple, and black birch are oftentimes associated 

 with the gray birch and cedar. Stands of all degrees of density 

 are found, from almost bare fields with a sprinkling of birch or 

 cedar to a closed canopy. As the stands grow older the seeding 

 up of the fields becomes more complete and the stand finally 

 becomes a dense one. 



Fig. 131. — A stand of the old field type wliich has nearly finished the process of reversion 

 to the mixed hardwoods type. A liberation cutting is needed, removing such trees as 

 the big spreading chestnuts at the right in order to favor the young growth of white 

 oak and black birch underneath. 



Both uneven-aged and even-aged forms of forest are charac- 

 teristic of the type. When gray birch seeds up an old field it 

 usually takes possession in one year, resulting in an even-aged 

 stand, but red cedar is rarely found in such stands. This tree 

 seeds in slowly, and stands containing a large per cent of cedar 

 are extremely uneven-aged in character. 



The type is strictly a temporary one, for as the stand ad- 



