201 



between second growth forests and those from which they have 

 been derived is discussed in a later paragraph. 



The principal object of this paper is to place on record a series 

 of observations made in the Carrington Phelps forest at Cole- 

 brook, a magnificent stand of virgin timber fully 300 acres in 

 extent which has been referred to by Hawes* as the most perfect 

 admixture of the northern and southern New England forest 

 types he had ever seen. Unlike most Connecticut forests it, 

 until recently, not only had remained practically unmolested by 

 the lumberman, but it also seems to have been singularly im- 

 mune from devastation by fire, the greater part of the area ap- 

 parently not having been burned over for nearly three centuries. 

 Without doubt this tract represented the type of climax forest 

 which formerly prevailed over at least the greater part of north- 

 western Connecticut and on this account it is of peculiar interest. 

 It was first brought to the writer's attention during the summer 

 of 191 1 and at that time a cursory survey was made. Since then 

 several visits have been paid to the vicinity, the latest one shortly 

 before the completion of the present paper, and the area has been 

 carefully studied. Unfortunately extensive lumbering opera- 

 tions commenced early in 1912, so that at the present writing the 

 greater portion of the forest has been reduced to treeless stumps, 

 heaps of brush, and piles of sawdust. 



As throughout most of Litchfield County the topography of the 

 region concerned is very uneven and the elevations high. The 

 forest was located partly in a rather broad valley, partly on the 

 slopes of adjoining hills. The surface soil is of glacial origin, a 

 sandy loam, often rocky, beneath which at varying depths is a 

 substructure of precambrian gneiss which frequently outcrops at 

 higher levels. A sizeable stream traverses the valley and in 

 certain sections the ground is swampy. These swampy areas 

 will not be considered here. On the whole the soil is well 

 drained, although there is naturally more or less contrast in this 

 respect between the slopes and the leveler valley floor. The 

 surface of the ground is covered with a layer of humus which 

 varies in thickness from 5 to nearly 30 centimeters. 



* Hawes, A. F.,and Hawley, R. C. Forest survey of Litchfield and New Haven 

 Counties, Connecticut. Conn. Agr. Exp. Sta. Bull. 162: 16. 1909. 



