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. 



Hardwood 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 Kivers, 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, Illi- 

 nois, and Indiana, the Highland Eim 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. 



