THE SOUTHERN CYPEESS. 35 



soils are very unfavorable, but this is only in part true. Unable to 

 thrive in impoverished or sterile sandy soils, cypress stands in a class 

 with the ordinary hardwoods as distinguished from most of the other 

 conifers, notably the pines. Of these, longleaf pine endures the deep- 

 est, driest soils of the South and thus presents the most striking con- 

 trast to cypress, since the two occur extensively on adjacent but 

 extremely different sites. Sandy soils dry out quickly near the 

 surface, thus preventing cypress from getting a foothold in the 

 seedling stages. The beds of the larger Atlantic and Gulf coastal 

 rivers are composed of varying soils of sandy and silty character. It 

 is here that cypress finds the optimum conditions for its develop- 

 ment. Except in the extreme northern portions of the State where 

 the Lafayette clays are present, cypress in Florida occurs largely in 

 sandy soils, but only where soil moisture is abundant and relatively 

 permanent. Similarly, in the typical humus soils, such as occur in the 

 Everglades, the presence or absence of cypress seems to depend upon 

 the depth of surface drying during periods of drought and the presence 

 at least of a minimum mineral component in the soil. In the shallow 

 ponds scattered over the lower Atlantic and Gulf Coastal Plains, 

 where natural conditions for advanced tree growth are decidedly 

 unfavorable, both soil and moisture conditions appear singularly 

 favorable for cypress-seed germination, and natural reproduction 

 here is uniformly the most abundant in the whole geographical range. 

 The poorly nourished, inferior form of "pond" cypress is found on 

 this class of shallow, poorly drained soils. 



On the whole, it may be stated that cypress finds its most con- 

 genial situation for adult growth in a deep, fine, sandy loam supplied 

 with an abundance of soil moisture and well drained — the require- 

 ments for practically all trees. Cypress is usually found, however, 

 in poorly-drained localities. Where cypress does occur on ridges or 

 bars it is practically certain that the latter have been built up by 

 natural changes and stream deposition since the incoming and early 

 :< - of the stand. The character of the growth of cypress planted 

 on upland soil in the Ohio Valley and the North Atlantic States (see 

 p. 64) furnishes corroborative evidence of the general correctness of 

 the above conclusions, which were reached through a careful com- 

 parative study of the various qualities of situations where cypress 

 occurs, and of the respective ages and rates of growth of the stands. 



i.e. in \-\<r CHEMBNT8. 



The quantity of light required by a tree for active growth is indi- 

 cated by i : tolerance. Since the various tree species vary widely 

 in their respective demands \'<>v light, the tolerance of a species has 

 much to do with its manner of occurrence in the forest stand. Cypress 

 Is able to endure partial Bhadingfor periods of considerable length, 



