PREDOMINANT HARDWOODS. 29° 
HARDWOOD LAND. 
On elevated benches and moderate slopes the forest is chiefly a 
deciduous growth mixed with a considerable quantity of Spruce and 
scattering Hemlock. (PI. IX, fig. 1.) In such situations the richest 
soil is to be found, and here Spruce, though not the predominant 
species, reaches its greatest size. The largest Spruce seen on either 
tract was growing on a hardwood bench and measured 34 inches in 
diameter. The trees growing on the slopes are, as a rule, not as large 
as those on the high benches, but they usually have a greater clear 
length and a shorter crown. 
The chief species on hardwood land besides the Spruce are Hard 
Maple, Beech, Birch, and scattered Hemlock, Soft Maple, and Cherry. 
(Pl. IX, fig. 2.) 
In general the Spruce forms on the hardwood land in Nehasane Park 
about 30 per cent of the trees over 10 inches in diameter. The measure- 
ments from which this was taken included only those trees which were 
apparently sound. If the gnarled and unsound trees were included the 
proportion would be larger. 
In the Whitney Preserve the hardwood forest contains a somewhat 
smaller proportion of Spruce than in Nehasane Park. The reason for 
this is that the land is less broken and irregular and there are a larger 
number of long, low ridges with moderate slopes on which the hard- 
woods thrive exceedingly well. On account of the great reproductive 
power and the tolerance of the hardwoods, they are able to occupy 
ground which is favorable to their growth often to the exclusion of 
other species. The insect pest, which occurred about 15 years ago, 
and of which mention is made on page 56, seems to have killed a large 
number of Spruce in the hardwood forest. The consequence is that in 
many places the Spruce has nearly all died out and the forest is com- 
posed almost exclusively of hardwoods. A number of sample acres 
were measured off in such places, and it was found that frequently there 
were no more than one or two Spruce trees per acre over 10 inches in 
diameter. 
Wherever the land is considerably broken, as in Nehasane Park, 
there is generally a large proportion of Spruce and Yellow Birch, while 
Hard Maple and Beech are confined to the moderate northern slopes 
and bases of the ridges and to the high benches. 
