THE RED SPRUCE. 
11 
common meeting ground and approach each, other so nearly in char- 
acter of growth and appearance that it is difficult to determine at 
what point the one entirely supersedes the other. Red spruce is 
also found in small groves along the seacoast of southern Maine and 
northern Massachusetts. Spruce, presumably red spruce, is to be 
found in small parcels at between 200 and 500 feet elevation on the 
low rolling uplands of eastern Maine, where it has taken possession 
of old abandoned pastures. 
The upper limit of its range within the United States is at timber 
line, although in the Northeastern States its co mm ercial limit may 
Fig. 1.— The "botanical range of spruce. 
be set at about 4,000 feet above sea level. In Maryland its minimum 
altitudinal range is 2,500 feet above sea level and constantly rises 
toward the southern limits of its occurrence in northern Georgia. It 
probably reaches its commercial upper limit between 5,000 and 6,000 
feet hi the mountains of North Carolina and Tennessee. 
FOREST TYPES. 
The old growth forests of the spruce region may be divided into 
four main types. The names chosen here for these types are those 
commonly used by lumbermen in describing them according to the 
various situations on which they occur. 
