REPORT OF THE STATE BOTANIST 1916 63 



of Onondaga and Madison counties, and is even apparent at the 

 east end of Oneida lake where the tulip tree, black gum, oaks, sassa- 

 fras and elm are abundant, but where soil conditions have excluded 

 the chestnut in favor of white pine, hemlock, pitch-pine and birch. 



The moderating influence of Oneida lake upon the climate of the 

 surrounding land is almost inappreciable because of its shallowness. 

 Covering an area of about 100 square miles the lake is but 20 to 

 55 feet deep, the greatest depth, near Cleveland, being about 55 

 feet. 



Life zones. In order to make clear the position of the Ontario 

 lowlands and the regions to the northeast and to the immediate 

 south, it seems advisable to introduce at this point an outline of 

 the life zones as defined by Doctpr Merriam (Bulletin 10, U. S. Geol. 

 Survey, 1898). 



1 Boreal region 



a Arctic-Apline zone 



b Hudsonian zone. Limited in the eastern United States to the highest 



mountains of New England to western North Carolina 

 c Canadian zone. The zone of red spruce, balsam fir, paper birch and 



mountain ash. In New York confined to the Adirondack region and 



the higher points of the Catskill mountains 



2 Austral region 



d Transition zone, the eastern humid portion of which is called the Alle- 

 ghanian zone. It is the region of oaks, hickories, chestnut, with mixtures 

 of birches, beech, hemlock, and sugar maple, which are not lacking in 

 the Canadian zone 



e Upper Austral zone, the eastern humid portion of which is called the 

 Carolinian zone. It is the zone of the tulip tree, hackberry, sweet gum, 

 redbud, persimmon and black gum. In New York extending up the 

 lower Hudson valley and including Long Island and Staten Island 



/ Lower Austral zone (Austroriparian area) 



3 Tropical region 



g Tropical zone 



It will be seen from this outline that all these zones, excepting 

 the first and the last two, are represented in New York State. 



Forests. The region around the eastern end of Oneida lake 

 represents in the character of its arborescent vegetation a close 

 relationship to the Alleghanian -Transition zone. Upon the sandy 

 areas (figure 7) which are not covered by swamp or marsh 

 vegetation the principal trees are: 



White pine Pinus strobus L. (represented chiefly by 



stumps and seedlings. 



Hemlock Tsuga canadensis (L.) Can. 



Pitch pine Pinus rigida Mill. 



White oak Quercus alba L. 



