4 FORESTS OF WISCONSIN. 



erally pine lands proper, being covered with dense and almost 

 pure forests of pine, both white and red (Norway) and only in 

 small part stocked with jack pine. The grayish to reddish-gray 

 soil and subsoil of these sandy areas are not generally differen- 

 tiated. They are usually of great depth, of medium to fine 

 grain and over more than two-thirds of the area contain suffi- 

 cient clayey matter to deserve the name of loamy sand. These 

 soila support a luxurious growth of pine, but are unsuited to 

 hemlock and hardwoods, which latter are represented only by 

 the white birch, poplar, aspen, and some stunted maple. The 

 most characteristic plants of the cut-over lands of these sandy 

 areas are the jack pine, scarlet oak, and sweet fern, while the 

 white birch is common to all loamy sands but does not thrive 

 on the poorest soils. 



The districts of sandy loam before mentioned occupy about 

 15 per cent, of the total area. They border, for the most part, 

 on the sandy lands fringing this territory on the south, and are 

 mere modifications of the same. The soil in these districts 

 though generally quite fertile is extremely variable, quite 

 heavy in places, often very sandy, and is covered in numerous 

 small and large patches by layers of black muck which greatly 

 increase their fertility. The soil and subsoil of the large body of 

 gray loam and gray clay lands are usually more or less well de- 

 fined and generally there is found a small amount of humus 

 cover. In most localities the subsoU, especially of all knolls, 

 etc., is mixed with gravel, which occurs either in layers of ir- 

 regular thickness and distribution or else is mixed promiscu- 

 ously through the ground. Generally, too, stones or boulders 

 of large size (4 inches to 50 inches) occur both on top and in 

 the ground, which though quite abundant in places do not on 

 the whole, interfere with agriculture, but are even regarded as 

 an indication of good land. The mixture of gravel and loam 

 or clay is extremely variable and in places sufficient sand and 

 fine gravel appears on the surface to make a soil classification 

 quite difficult. 



These general outlines will require much modification in a 



