444 Karl M. Wiegand and Arthur J. Eames 



acid-soil flora appear. The average percentages of CaO in certain soils of the basin, 

 as determined by analyses made by soil specialists, are as follows : 



Per cent of CaO Per cent of CaO 

 Acid soils : > n surface soil in subsoil 



Chestnut soils of the hills 0.3674 0.091 1 



Calcareous soils: 



Soils from Esty to King Ferry 0.9104 3.2454 



Drumlin region, Ontario plain 1.2318 3.8555 



Though a detailed account of the relation of local soils to the vegetation must be 

 left to some future time, it was thought that some interesting generalizations might 

 be discovered by a study of the soil requirements of the rare plants listed in the unpub- 

 lished table mentioned on page 452. Those plants of the table not inhabiting the 

 peat and marl bogs were divided into two groups, those of dry and those of wet soils. 

 The species of each of these groups were then further classified, as accurately as was 

 possible considering the dearth of actual measurements of acidity, under the following 

 headings : calcareous, acid, neutral, rich, and saline. Each of these divisions was then 

 subdivided into light, undefined, and heavy. Among rich soils were included those 

 soils of alluvial origin or with abundant organic matter. Rock plants were classified 

 under "light soils." Under the designation "coastal" were included plants primarily 

 of Atlantic Coastal Plain distribution. The term "central" was employed for plants 

 whose center of distribution is in or near New York State. 



As a result of this study, it was found that on wet nonboggy soils the distribution 

 was as follows: light calcareous 17, calcareous (undefined texture) 61, heavy cal- 

 careous 0; light acid 12, acid (undefined texture) 18, heavy acid 0; light neutral 11, 

 neutral (undefined texture) 8, heavy neutral 0; light rich 0, rich (undefined texture) 

 8, heavy rich 0; light saline 3, saline (undefined texture) 17, heavy saline 0. The 

 totals for wet nonboggy soils were: light soils 43, soils of undefined texture 112, 

 heavy soils 0. From a different standpoint the totals were : calcareous 78, acid 30, 

 neutral 19, rich 8, saline 20. Of the 78 wet-calcareous-soil plants in the list, 27 were 

 northern, 19 central, 13 western, 11 southern, 2 Coastal Plain, 3 Appalachian, and 

 3 of general saline distribution. Of the 30 acid-soil plants, 13 were central, 6 northern, 

 5 coastal, 4 southern, 2 Appalachian, and none western. The plants of neutral wet 

 soil were about equally northern, southern, coastal, and central ; those of rich wet 

 soil were mostly central and western. From these figures it appears that a majority 

 of the rare, and hence presumably distinctive, wet-soil plants of the basin inhabit 

 calcareous soils, and, for the most part, soils of medium and light texture. Com- 

 paratively few are of distinctly rich soils, and none can be considered to inhabit 

 noticeably heavy soil. The texture of wet soil is difficult to make out. Most of those 

 listed as "undefined" are probably of medium texture. 



A similar tabulation of the rare plants of dry soils gave the following figures : 

 light calcareous 35, calcareous (undefined texture) 10, heavy calcareous 0; light acid 

 83, acid (undefined texture) 4, heavy acid 2; light neutral 45, neutral (undefined 

 texture) 6, heavy neutral 5 ; light rich 13, rich (undefined texture) 31, heavy rich 0. 

 Here again most of the items classified as "undefined texture" are medium. The 

 totals for dry soils were: light soils 176, soils of undefined texture 51, heavy soils 

 7; or, from a different viewpoint, calcareous 45, acid 89, neutral 56, rich 44, saline 0. 

 Of the 45 dry-soil plants of calcareous soils, 17 were western, 10 northern, 10 central, 

 5 southern, 2 Appalachian, and 1 coastal. Of the 89 found in acid soils, 30 were 

 central, 29 southern, 14 northern, 7 coastal, 5 western, and 4 Appalachian. Of the 

 56 plants of neutral soils, 23 were southern, 15 central, 6 northern, 6 western, 5 

 Appalachian, and 1 coastal. Of the 44 plants of rich soils, 27 were western, 9 

 central, 4 southern, and 4 northern. Here, contrary to the conditions found among 

 the wet-soil plants, the great majority occur in light soils and a large proportion 

 inhabit acid soils. The grand total of both wet and dry soils showed : light soils 



