﻿62 



BOTANICAL GAZETTE 



succession, the oak replacing the pine; but the soil, though still a 

 coarse sand, has a distinct trace of clay which could account for 

 the presence of the oak. 



A short distance from the pine and scattering oak just noticed, 

 we find an open stand of short limby white oak with an occasional 

 pitch pine. There is an understory of scrub oak, which is, however, 

 far less dense than on the areas where the pine predominates. To 

 all appearances this could be another stage in the succession from 

 pine to oak, a stage somewhat later than the one noticed just previ- 

 ously, for here the oak predominates instead of the pine, while the 

 pine now occurs only sparsely, as the oak had done in the other 

 place. This idea finds support in the first examination of the soil, 

 which proves to be the same coarse sand as that found under the 

 first forest of pure pine; but deeper digging shows that only the 

 first 6 inches are sand, while below the sand is clay. This clay 

 amply accounts for the presence of the oak, and probably the 

 surface layer of sand accounts for the scattering pine. 



Adjoining the white oak and scattered pine just described is a 

 typical oak forest. The trees are scarlet oak and white oak, 

 chiefly the former, with a little black oak, an occasional small 

 hickory, and in certain parts of the forest a little chestnut oak 

 (Quercus prinus Linn.). There is no chestnut (Castanea dentata 

 Marsh.). One old pitch pine (probably about the same age as the 

 oaks) and a pine stub, which could easily have been taken for 

 relicts of a former pine forest, were seen. There is also a little pine 

 reproduction which probably will not come up unless the canopy 

 is opened. 



The soil on which this oak forest is growing consists predomi- 

 nantly of clay or fine silty material. While not a very heavy soil, 

 it was clearly one of moderately high moisture-retaining capacity. 

 The precise nature of the differences between this soil and the 

 coarse sand on which the pure pine was found cannot of course be 

 stated without thorough analysis, but it is sufficiently clear that 

 decided differences exist. This soil, so far as could be determined, 

 strongly resembles that under the forest of oak with scattering pine, 

 except that it lacks the surface layer of sand. It is significant 

 that the layer of sand ends where the typical oak forest begins. 



