THE SOUTHERN CYPRESS. 39 



In Chipola Lakes (locally known as "Dead Lakes"), tributary to 

 the Apalachicola River in Florida, a subsidence of from 3 to 6 feet 

 has been followed by the gradual dying of a heavy, pure cypress 

 stand over a nonalluvial area about 10 miles long by about half a 

 mile in width. Many trees, however, still persist with a fragment of 

 life after standing in clear water about 70 years. Repeated top fires, 

 started by fishermen and others, during dry seasons, in the dense 

 festoons of Spanish moss have left clear evidence of their part in the 

 killing of the stand. On adjacent lands along the Apalachicola River, 

 where alluvial deposits kept pace with the subsidence, the bases of 

 mature cypress trees He deeply buried, yet very old trees are still 

 living. A splendid young stand of cypress and ash about 48 years 

 old covers the deep, rich alluvial soil, indicating the close of the period 

 of rapid subsidence. The effect of draining swamp lands is discussed 

 on page 53, where it is shown that the effect of ordinary draining is 

 slight. 



GROWTH. 



In considering the growth in diameter, height, and volume, it is 

 essential to distinguish clearly between trees grown in the virgin 

 forest and those grown in the open, or second growth. Because the 

 rate of development is so widely different in the two cases, it is essen- 

 tial to have two sets of tables for comparison. Measurements indi- 

 cate little difference in the rate of growth of cypress between the 

 warmer and the cooler regions of its natural distribution. Trees 

 planted in Pennsylvania and Ohio, north of its natural range, are 

 growing about as rapidly as the natural growth in various parts of 

 the South. 1 



Wounds in the bark are healed at the rapid rate of three-fourths 

 to 1 inch per year on each side of the wound. One tree 330 years old 

 overgrew a fire scar 6.8 inches across in 4 years. Most remarkable is 

 the continuance of life in the stump sometimes for several years with- 

 out the formation of vegetative sprouts. In this manner the tops of 

 stumps from 18 to 24 inches across occasionally are found fully 

 calloused over and living several years after cutting. 



GROWTH IN HEIGHT. 



Cypress seedlings grow at a very rapid rate. This aids the young 



tree in reaching abovo the ordinary levels of surface water. Few if 



any conifers besides Cypress commonly reach heights of from 8 to 14 



inches the first season and from 16 to 24 inches the second season. 



Tabled.) 



i See " Cypres* under Cult Ivftl Ion," p. 64. 



