2 88 



NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM 



Among the northern species that 

 in this zone may be mentioned : 



Cypripedium reginae 

 Cypripedium hirsutum 

 Cypripedium parviflorum 

 Arethusa bulbosa 

 Taxus minor 

 Thuja occidentalis 

 Tsuga canadensis 

 Coretna conradii 

 Populus grandide?itata 

 Betula luiea 

 Menyanthes trifoliata 

 Diervilla diervilla 

 Comarum palustre 

 Oxalis acetosella 



find their southern limit somewhere 



showy ladies' slipper 



large yellow ladies' slipper 



small yellow ladies' slipper 



arethusa 



American yew 



white cedar 



hemlock 



Conrad's broom crowberry 



large-toothed aspen 



yellow birch 



buckbean 



bush honeysuckle 



purple or marsh cinquefoil 



white or true wood-sorrel 



Plant life is active in this zone during two thirds of the year, and it is 

 consequently the most northerly life area of any real agricultural impor- 

 tance. " Many vegetables, the sugar beet, chicory, oats and numerous 

 varieties of plums, cherries, pears, grapes, white potatoes and cereals 

 attain their highest perfection" (Merriam, '98, p. 20). The principal 

 crops of the Atlantic division of the transition zone ( ' Alleghanian faunal 

 area' ) tabulated by Merriam ('88, p. 21-24) are : 



wheat (7 varieties) 



barley 



rye 



corn (8 varieties) 



sorghum 



oats (5 varieties) 



sugar beet 



buckwheat 



hops 



white potatoes 



currants (11 varieties) 

 black currants (4 varieties) 

 apples (90 varieties) 

 crab apples (16 varieties) 

 pears (37 varieties) 

 quinces 



cherries (31 varieties) 

 plums (41 varieties) 

 grapes (17 varieties) 

 strawberries (13 varieties) 



flax 



There can be little doubt that the area occupied by the transition 

 zone in New York has been very materially increased by the clearing 

 away of the forests. The process of local extension of the transition 

 zone may be observed in any region where Canadian forests are in 

 process oi clearing from the southern side. As the cool forest cover- 



