160 Journal of the Mitchell Society. [Dec. 



ried out in the high Sierras of the west by the national gov- 

 ernment. All the higher Appalachians should be reserved, 

 either by the states or by the nation. I much prefer that 

 they should be put under national control, but it is a mere 

 truism to say that they will not be reserved either by the 

 states or by the nation unless you people of the South show a 

 strong interest therein." 



North Carolina, which would give the largest area to the 

 Appalachian Forest Reserve, is unequalled in its variety of 

 hardwoods and conifers by that of any other State or Terri- 

 tory. Throughout the whole area of the State, the great 

 variety of soils and climate has brought together trees from 

 all parts of eastern America so that 24 kinds of oaks are to be 

 found in the State, which is three more than occur in any 

 State to the north of this one, and two more than are to be 

 found in any State to the south; of the nine kinds of hickories 

 known to occur in the United States, eight have been found 

 in North Carolina; here are all six maples of the eastern 

 United States; all the lindens; all six of the American magno- 

 lias; three of the birches; eight pines out of eleven; both spe- 

 cies of hemlock and balsam-fir; three elms out of five; six 

 arborescent species of plum and cherry; and three of pyrus 

 (apple). 



The bleak and exposed mountain summits, bear forests of 

 trees which there find their southern limit, but extend north- 

 ward through northern New York and New England to Can- 

 ada. Such trees are the black spruce ^the balsam), striped 

 and spiked maples, mountain sumac, which is really an apple, 

 balsam fir and aspen, all unless sheltered by other trees 

 or by^ the slopes of the mountain above them, rugged and 

 dwarfed from the cold and constant wind to which they are 

 exposed. 



The commercial forest trees are on the slopes of the moun- 

 tains and in the ravines and valleys. Some of these trees 

 have wide distribution to the north of North Carolina or to 

 the south of it, or in both directions, and some of them are 



