FOREST POLICY. 



from Wilmington, Del., to Hoboken, is covered by cretaceous clays 

 and marls. North of this belt lies . the mountain zone of New 

 Jersey, formed of red sandstone with trap outcrops, replaced 

 further north by gneiss and granite highlands and yielding, in 

 the extreme north, to the limestone and slate formations of the 

 Kittatinney Mountains. 



South of the cretaceous belt lie "The Pines," a slightly 

 rolling plain, with gravelly and sandy soil of post-tertiary origin. 



3. Distribution: All timber is second or third growth. 

 In the clay and marl belt, chestnut coppice prevails in small 

 wood lots attached to farms; growth thrifty, protected by farm,- 

 «rs. Pinus virginiana and echinata are found, with little rigida. 

 ' ' In the highlands and mountains of the north, the farm lots 

 in the valleys are well stocked with hardwoods, especially chest- 

 nut. In the Kittatinney Mountains, conifers, especially Pinus 

 rigida, are mixed with hardwoods. Slopes and ridges are in- 

 variably in woods. In the mountains, tracts are large and hence 

 more frequented by fires and trespassers. 



In "The Pines," pure pitch pine forests of a stunted growth 

 prevail on pure sand, the trees formed' by stool-shoots after fires. 

 On better soil, black oak and black jack oak are mixed with 

 pitch pine. On wet soil, dense stands of white cedar occur, or 

 hardwood swamps, stocked with sweet and black gum, maple. and 

 yellow poplar. 



The trap rock ridges, breaking ■ through the red sandstone, 

 show a stunted coppice growth of poor oak, chestnut and red 

 cedar. 



The woodlands of the northern highlands and those of 

 ■"The Pines" may be of indirect importance by shielding the water 

 supply for a growing population. 



A colony of Russian Jews practice osier culture for basket- 

 making. 



,4. Forest ownership: 47 mill firms own 7,576 acres of 

 forest, reported to contain 3,600 feet b. m. average stumpage. 

 The balance of woodlands belongs to farmers and to owners of 

 small private reserves. 



S- Use of timber: The iron industry in "The Pines," 

 during the i8th century, drew heavily upon the virgin forest for 

 charcoal. In 1850 the whole State was already cut over. 



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