1922] WATERMAN—PLANT COMMUNITIES 21 
terrace on the south. The largest trees have been cut, but hemlock 
stumps up to four feet in diameter are still to be seen. 
On the strip of land between Long and Platte Lakes a scattered 
and somewhat stunted growth of Tsuga canadensis, Acer saccharum, 
and Fagus americana extends north almost to Michigan Highway 
22, over soil which at first is somewhat alluvial, but which 
gradually changes into the usual sand ridge type. Toward the 
north the hard maples disappear first and the hemlocks last, as 
the oaks and pines become more frequent. On the east very little 
uniform advancement of the deciduous trees was found, probably 
because of the steep xerophytic bluff occupied by conifers (fig. 7). 
The valley of Otter Creek has not been studied in detail as yet, but 
it seems to be largely occupied by conifers, although the soil condi- 
tions are more those of an alluvial floodplain than in any other 
part of the sand ridge region. 
Apart from this rather uniform invasion along the borders, 
there are several isolated spots where hemlocks at least are found in 
some frequency and of considerable size. On the morainic ridge 
between Platte and Little Platte Lakes the deciduous forest was 
apparently well developed, with, however, a large proportion of 
pines and some oaks. Large hemlocks are found in several places 
along the east bank of Platte River north of Platte Lake (fig. 8), and 
in the valley on the south slope of the morainic fragment on the shore 
of Lake Michigan (fig. 10). In the last locality they are in poor con- 
dition, and some have recently died. Small specimens are to be found 
on the edges of many of the smaller swamp depressions, especially 
on the southwest of Loon Lake, that is, on the opposite side of 
Platte River from the morainic ridge extension just mentioned. 
Fagus americana has not been found away from the borders and 
the wedge-shaped invasion between Platte and Little Platte Lakes. 
A solitary specimen apparently about fifty years of age is growing 
by Michigan Highway 22, about a quarter of a mile west of 
Platte River, and therefore in the heart of the sand ridge area. Its 
Shape shows that it grew in the open, but its age does not preclude 
the possibility of its having been planted by the first settlers. The 
mixed coniferous-deciduous lake bluff border association described 
