372 THE PLANT LIFE OF MARYLAND 



ing conservative forest management are present in a greater or less 

 degree. 



1 — The soil is capable of producing the best of timber. 



2 — The land is held high enough to encourage forest management. 



3 — The woodlands are in small tracts, giving the individual own- 

 ers (who are always on the ground) the opportunity of constant ob- 

 servation and close supervision of the work of improvement. 



4 — There is a good local market for all forest produce. 



5 — The woodlots, located as they are in small tracts, and isolated 

 by surrounding cleared land, are not subject to a considerable fire 

 damage, and therefore the risk to forest capital is not a serious one. 



THE ALLEGHANY PLATEAU. 



This section has the largest per cent (60%) of woodlands of any 

 part of the State and cuts the most timber. For many years it has 

 been the chief seat of the lumber industry of the State, but excessive 

 cutting and destructive fires have consumed about all of the original 

 stand, with the result that the production is rapidly falling off. The 

 topography is mountainous, and most of the soil is unfit for any- 

 thing but a forest growth. The woodlands are mostly in large tracts 

 along the mountain sides, and in small tracts scattered through the 

 intervening valleys. In addition to their value in producing timber, 

 the mountain forests greatly aid in conserving the rainfall on im- 

 portant watersheds, thereby preventing low water stages during 

 period of drought, as well as preventing floods during periods of 

 excessive rainfall. 



There are three classes of forest; viz. hardwood, coniferous and 

 a mixture of the two, — hardwood-coniferous. 



The hardwood class is by far the most important as it covers about 

 90% of the forest area. It is characterized by a variety of tree 

 species, the proportion of each differing somewhat in different sec- 

 tions because of local conditions. 



The hardwood class may be separated into two well defined types, 

 the ridge and slope types. The Eidge Type occupies the crests of the 

 main ridges, extending in a north-easterly and south-westerly direc- 



