76 



The Forests of Maryland. 



their best development except on the better-drained soils, where they 

 are able to maintain a deep root system. In the northern section of 

 the County the forests are being steadily cleared away, while in the 

 southern section much more land is growing up in forest than is being 

 cleared. On the whole, the ratio of forest to cleared land is being 

 maintained, and away from the agricultural sections — Cambridge, 

 East New Market and Hurlock — few changes are taking place. 



Loblolly pine, by far the most important of the County's timber 

 species, is well distributed over the entire area, with a greater propor- 

 tion occurring on the higher places. In swamps the principal species 

 are red gum and the oaks, though everywhere the absence of fires has 

 greatly aided reproduction of pine. Red gum, occurring principally 

 on wet lands, attains large size, and has ari extensive local use for 

 basket and barrel veneers. In the southern section of the County, 

 where there is a general lack of adequate transportation facilities, 

 there has been less culling of the forest, but where the cutting is ex- 

 treme several of the most important trees, notably red gum, are unable 

 to retain their place in the forest by natural reproduction. There is 

 some oak in the county, Spanish oak and willow oaks predominating, 

 but the oaks are nowhere increasing, chiefly because of their poor re- 

 production on the wet land of the county. 



The forests of Dorchester County are 14 per cent hardwood, 35 

 per cent pine, and 51 per cent mixed hardwood and pine. In the sur- 

 vey of 1910 it developed that of the hardwood forests, 2,458 acres con- 

 tain stands of 5,000 feet or more per acre, with 16,395 acres of less; 

 8,182 acres of pine contain 5,000 or more feet to the acre, and there 

 are 40,582 where the stumpage is less ; while there are 27,115 acres of 

 mixed stands of 5,000, and 43,559 of less than 5,000. 



Uses op the Forest. 



~ In general, methods of cutting have been those usually employed 

 where timber is cheap and transportation expensive. Since there is a 

 very large percentage of the swamp type of forest, logging operations 

 are often difficult, and in such locations confined to the dryer seasons 

 of the year, usually during the months from September to January, 

 Though only the better grades are removed in less accessible regions, 

 the pine as a rule is cut closer than hardwood. In spite of this, and 

 due to its greater seeding capacity, it is appearing on cut-over lands 

 wherever there are openings, even securing a foothold in hardwood 

 swamps where hummocks occur. 



On the swamp lands where pine is mixed with hardwood, all of the 

 pine of mine-prop or saw-log size is cut, but only the best of the hard- 



