1906] GANONG—NASCENT FOREST OF MISCOU BEACH 103 
Physically the situation is much more protected than the zones out- 
side of it, and, lying at a still lower level, it has a moister soil. The 
soil, however, is still of sand, though it contains some humus from 
the decaying vegetation and must derive some mineral matter by 
diffusion and drainage from the upland. Very likely also the sand 
is shallower here than farther out (fig. 2), and hence some influence 
of the minerals of the underlying soil may be felt, while in places 
an appreciable enriching of the soil must result from the decay of 
Fic. 14.—Typical closed woods, chiefly of white spruce, but with some deciduous 
trees in the background; the closed forest carpet shows in the glade of the left fore- 
ground. 
the bodies of the walrus, formerly slain here in great numbers, as 
manifest by their semi-fossil bones.’ These additional sources 
of mineral nutrients, however, by no means furnish a supply sufficient 
for the proper growth of the woods, for in every feature they exhibit 
marked depauperation as compared with the same species on v3 
neighboring upland. 
In relation to the preceding zone, the closed woods consist essen- 
® Described more fully in a note in Bull. Nat. Hist. Soc. N. B. No. 24:462. 1906. 
