82 
the relations between the character of the soil and the vigorous 
development of the seedling make the raising of the sapling of 
sufficient size for planting a matter of great importance. 
York Botanical Garden the hemlock grove is not 
only a feature of great natural beauty but of much scientific in- 
terest. It occupies about thirty-five or forty acres along the 
banks of the Bronx River, and is the largest stand of hemlock to 
= 
Fic. 13. Opening in hemlock grove where youn ing ti 
the favorable light relation. ed a Prof. C. C. Curtis. 
be found so far south, near the Atlantic seaboard. A large part 
of it is primeval forest, for it has been protected for many years 
by the former owners, the Lorillard family. The soil is a thin 
layer of humus and disintegrated rock overlying the gneiss and 
schist of the formation of this locality. The roots of the hem- 
lock spread near the surface of this thin soil so that;much dam- 
age is often done by a heavy wind, which may overturn trees 
