THE SOUTHERN CYPRESS. BP) 
soils are very unfavorable, but this is only in part true. Unable to 
thrive in impoverished or sterile sandy soils, cypress stands in a class 
with the ordinary hardwoods as distinguished from most of the other 
conifers, notably the pines. Of these, longleaf pine endures the deep- 
est, driest soils of the South and thus presents the most striking con- 
trast to cypress, since the two occur extensively on adjacent but 
extremely different sites. Sandy soils dry out quickly near the 
surface, thus preventing cypress from getting a foothold in the 
seedling stages. The beds of the larger Atlantic and Gulf coastal 
rivers are compoced of varying sous of sandy and silty character. It 
is here that cypress finds the optimum conditions for its develop- 
ment. Except in the extreme northern portions of the State where 
the Lafayette clays are present, cypress in Florida occurs largely in 
sandy soils, but only where soil moisture is abundant and relatively 
permanent. Similarly, in the typical humus soils, such as occur in the 
Everglades, the presence or absence of cypress seems to depend upon 
the depth of surface drying during periods of drought and the presence 
at least of a minimum mineral compenent in the soil. In the shallow 
ponds scattered over the lower Atlantic and Gulf Coastal Plains, 
where natural conditions for advanced tree growth are decidedly 
‘unfavorable, both soil and moisture conditions appear singularly 
favorable for cypress-seed germination, and natural reproduction 
here is uniformly the most abundant in the whole geographical range. 
The poorly nourished, inferior form of ‘‘pond”’ cypress is found on 
this class of shallow, poorly drained sous. 
On the whole, it may be stated that cypress finds its most con- 
genial situation for adult growth in a deep, fine, sandy loam supplied 
with an abundance of soil moisture and well drained—the require- 
ments for practically all trees. Cypress is usually found, however, 
in poorly-draimed localities. Where cypress does occur on ridges or 
bars it is practically certain that the latter have been built up by 
natural changes and stream deposition since the mcoming and early 
_stages of the stand. The character of the growth of cypress planted 
on upland soil m the Ohio Valley and the North Atlantic States (see 
p. 64) furnishes corroborative evidence of the general correctness of 
the above conclusions, which were reached through a careful com- 
parative study of the various qualities of situations where cypress 
occurs, and of the respective ages and rates of growth of the stands. 
LIGHT REQUIREMENTS. 
The quantity of light required by a tree for active growth is indi- 
cated by its tolerance. Since the various tree species vary widely 
in their respective demands for light, the tolerance of a species has 
much to do with its manner of occurrence in the forest stand. Cypress 
is able to endure partial shading for periods of considerable length, 
