JULY, 1902. 
BRUXCKEX STUDIES IX PLANT DISTRIBUTION. 
167 
17. Diameter, 4 inches; number of rings, 46. 
18. Diameter, 11 inches; number of rings, 66. 
19. Diameter, 10 inches ; number of rings, 72. 
20. Diameter, 5 inches ; number of rings, 54. 
21. Diameter, 4 inches; number of rings, 53. 
The billets had no indication of their position in the living tree, 
so that no inference can be drawn from the number of rings to the 
age of the tree, except that even a three-inch stem is more than 
25 years old. But the table shows clearly the extreme irregu- 
larity of the diameter increase as between different trees, and also 
the very slow growth. All the billets measured, as well as many 
others merely inspected, showed by far the widest rings toward 
the center, while the outward rings were invariably exceedingly 
narrow, showing that during the last twenty years, at least, 
diameter growth had almost ceased. In cases i, 5 and 8 there 
were two rings, about half way between pith and bark, which 
were nearly twice as wide as those at either side, each being about 
one and a half millimeter in width. The height of tamarack trees 
in this swamp is as irregular as their diameter; the tallest may 
measure fifty feet. It is apparent from the old stumps left, that 
much larger trees formerly grew in this swamp ; for some of these 
stumps measure fifteen inches, while at present trees of ten or 
eleven inches are rare, and most of them are much smaller. There 
is good reason to believe that the above conditions are typical of 
nearly all the tamarack swamps in the southern part of the state. 
From above facts it appears that the small farmers who own 
these lands are very wise in cutting down tamarack tracts, as they 
are doing almost everywhere in this region. These lands are not 
peaty, but have a rich, although sour humus. If drained, they fur- 
nish arable land of excellent quality, and even without drainage 
the crop of marsh hay, which can be reaped from them annually, 
after the forest is cut, will be more valuable than anything the 
tamarack could produce under the prevaihng circumstances. To 
the lover of wild flowers, to be sure, the rapid disappearance of 
the swamps is a source of regret, for among their tangled roots 
grow not a few species of orchids and other beautiful blossoms. 
8. Some Plants from Sheboygan. 
Mr. Charles Goessl, of Sheboygan, contributes the following 
list of plants collected by him in the neighborhood of that city dur- 
ing the year 1901 : 
Clematis Virginiana. 
Anemone cylindrica. Along Black River. 
Anemone Pennsylvanica. 
