12 SECOND-GROWTH HARDWOODS IN CONNECTICUT. 



CONNECTICUT WOODLANDS. 



The woodland and brush area of Connecticut is estimated to be 

 nearly one-half the total area of the State, or about 2,500 square 

 miles. Practically the whole of the woodland has been cut over re- 

 peatedly. Along the northern border there still exist a few small 

 virgin stands of white pine and one excellent stand, only 200 or 300 

 acres in extent, of hemlock, maple, beech, yellow birch, and other 

 northern hardwoods. But aside from these the present forests of 

 Connecticut have sprung up after the removal of the original virgin 

 stands, or after the abandonment of farm lands, and are known as 

 11 second growth." This term is of course a misnomer, since the 

 stands are rarely the second, but often the third, fourth, or even far- 

 ther removed crops from the original forests. The term has gained 

 sanction by common usage, however, and will be used in this report 

 to mean any stand, however old, which has sprung up after lumber- 

 ing, clearing for agriculture, or fire since the first settlement of the 



State. 



SECOND-GROWTH TYPES. 



The second-growth stands may be divided into swamp types and 

 upland types. The swamp types may further be divided into hard- 

 wood types and a cedar type. The hardwood swamp types contain 

 ash, elm, maple, black gum or "pepperidge," swamp white oak, yel- 

 low poplar or " white wood," and other valuable moisture-loving 

 species. The cedar type is so named from the presence of white cedar 

 (Chamsecyparis tliyoides (L.) B. S. P.), either in pure stands or in 

 mixture with other species. Although often valuable locally, these 

 types occupy a relatively small portion of the forest area and will not 

 be considered in this study. 



The upland second-growth types comprise three distinct classes — 

 (1) white pine, (2) old field, and (3) even-aged hardwoods. 



WHITE PINE. 



Second-growth white pine stands are quite numerous, especially in 

 the northern and eastern portions of the State. They are usually 

 dense and even-edged, and result from the seeding of abandoned 

 fields by white pine trees in the vicinity. There are also many plan- 

 tations of white pine in the State, a few of which have already reached 

 merchantable size. Though very limby, second-growth pine is 

 already valuable and promises to become more so, especially for box 

 boards. 



OLD FIELD TYPE. 



As its name implies, this type results from the seeding of aban- 

 doned fields by various trees, but chiefly gray birch and red cedar. 

 These two species are, as a rule, the advance forest growth over old 



