OUR FORESTS 11 
the white-pine forest of the Northeastern and Lake States that formed . 
the backbone of the softwood-lumber industry in this country from 
colonial times almost to the beginning of the twentieth century. 
The original stands of this species, however, have almost entirely dis- 
appeared. Of the original growth of hemlock, only a small portion 
remains, and the spruce forests even in the less accessible regions have 
been heavily cut. 
In the southern part of the region (along the Appalachian Moun- 
tains) eastern hardwoods attain their highest development. Yellow- 
poplar is perhaps the outstanding hardwood species of this area, but 
many others are to be found here. American chestnut, once an im- 
portant timber species here, has been practically wiped out by blight. 
Although the bulk of the virgin timber is gone from the southern 
Appalachians, this section contains a vast aggregate of second-growth 
and restocking areas. Commercially this section should, if its forests 
are properly protected and managed, become one of the great per- 
manent forest areas of the United States because of the large amount 
of nonagricultural land, the valuable species of hardwoods it can 
produce, and its proximity to the large markets for forest products. 
Many other species are found in the northern forest region. Those 
characteristic of the northern portion include red, black, and white 
spruces; balsam fir; eastern white, red, jack, and pitch pines; hem- 
lock; sugar and red maples; beech; northern red, white, black, and 
scarlet oaks; yellow, paper, black and gray birches; several species 
of as en and cottonwood; basswood; elms; ashes; northern white- 
cedar; and tamarack. The species of the southern Appalachian por- 
tion include white, northern red, chestnut, black, and scarlet oaks; 
hemlock; eastern white, shortleaf, pitch, and Virginia pines; black 
and yellow birches; basswood; sugar and red maples; beech; red 
spruce; Fraser fir; cucumbertree; black cherry; hickories; black 
locust; black tupelo (“blackgum”) ; and buckeye. 
Harpwoop Forest REGION 
The hardwood region (sometimes called the central hardwood re- 
gion) is the most extensive of the forest regions. It covers the pied- 
mont section east of the Appalachian Mountains, the greater part of 
the drainage basins of the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers, and extends 
southwestward through Oklahoma over central Texas. It may be 
divided into three portions—northern, southern, and Texas. 
Three-fourths of the timber-producing acreage in this forest region 
is in farm woodlands, generally 10 to 40 acres in extent, and only 
one-fourth is in comparatively large tracts of practically continuous 
forest. The largest forest stands are found in the hilly sections, 
mainly on lands not well suited for farming, in southern Ohio, IIli- 
nois, and Indiana, the Highland Rim of Kentucky and Tennessee, 
and the Ozark Plateau in Missouri and Arkansas. The farm wood- 
lands are scattered more thickly throughout the better-developed 
agricultural sections (fig. 7). 
The present stands of timber in the hardwood region are largely 
the culled remnants of former splendid hardwood forests. Continued 
cutting of the best species and individuals, forest fires, and the heavy 
'pasturing of woodlands have worked havoc, but a few scattered virgin 
stands are still in existence. 
