The contrast in the character of the forest floor in evergreen 

 and in deciduous forests is a familiar fact. In a forest where 

 narrow-leaved, evergreen conifers predominate the floor is almost 

 wholly devoid of the shrubs and herbs of low habit, which form 

 so conspicuous a feature of the floor in a forest of broad-leaved, 

 deciduous trees. In walking through a hemlock forest for 



brown, fallen leaves. This leaf-cover is broken only at irregular 

 and rare intervals, and usually where the sun has easy access, by 

 small groups or isolated individuals of herbaceous plants. But, 

 walking through a deciduous forest, one can often scarcely take 



In the photograph (Fig. 34) this contrast is shown in a striking 

 manner. The picture was taken from a path that passes through 

 the forest near the recently constructed rubble bridge. The area 

 to the left marks the edge of the hemlocks, that to the right the 

 beg g of the deciduous trees. Under the conifers there is a 



practically entire absence of shrubs and herbs, while under the 

 broad-leaved trees they grow abundant and varied. Falcata 



Solidago, Ambrosia trifida, and Deringa canadensis predominate. 

 The boundary between the two types of floor is clean-cut and 



the woods has been generously accepted. This is attested by the 

 well-worn path along the edge of the undergrowth, and the path 

 serves to further emphasize the contrast. Scarcely an herb is 

 found in the area under the hemlocks. The illumination of the 



This difference in the undergrowth of the two kinds of forest 

 is probably due to a combination of causes. Difference in illumi- 

 nation may be a factor, but this alone cannot account for the 

 difference, for the seedlings of the hemlock, which is a tolerant, 

 or shade-bearing species, do not normally come to maturity 



