2 THE AUDUBON BU DUE 
sorghum and black-amber cane), and buckwheat planted in a ratio o 
3:1:1 as listed above. Smartweed spp., pigweed spp., and barnyard gras: 
represent volunteer plants which germinate in some profusion within thes¢ 
strips. They are useful as food and cover species for both sons 
and game birds. 
CENTRAL UPLANDS—tThe central unit (Table 1) is an upland, hill; 
area of 660 acres (Fig. 1-B). Elevations range between 720 feet to 880 fee 
above mean sea level. The terrain is cleft with ravines, steep inclines, anc 
level plateaus—the largest being about 150 acres. 
Many soil types combine to form this land, varying from soils s 
disturbed by man that no classification can be made to an upland, timbe 
soil formed from a highly calcareous substrate. This latter soil is wel 
suited for agriculture, woodland, pasture and wildlife uses. The flora varie 
with fluctuating ecological pattern of the landscape—precipitous changes ir 
elevation, spring seepage, direction of slope, etc. An oak forest represent: 
the dominant canopy vegetation. It covers about 300 acres located in ; 
linear fashion along the dashed line (Fig. 1). This canopy generally follow: 
the shores of five small man-made lakes. Four species of oaks are present— 
bur, white, northern red and black. Shagbark hickory is closely associatec 
with these oaks, primarily upon drier soils along the slopes or atop the 
ridges with black oak. 
White and green ash are also found mixed with this canopy, mos 
prevalently on well-drained slopes or the ravine bottoms with ironwooc 
and basswood; also on deep, more moist soils associated with northern red 
bur and white oaks. American and slippery elm are present in som« 
numbers. Being less shade-tolerant than the oaks, they are more ofter 
found near the canopy’s edge. 
Maples—primarily sugar, but also red and silver in limited areas—wil 
germinate under considerable shade, which oaks are less likely to do. Or 
about 40 acres at the north end of the dashed line (Fig. 1), interlaced wit! 
ravines and rich soil, a mature stand, primarily of sugar maple, can be seen 
The shrub understory exists, becoming progressively more prolifi 
where there is less shade, or the canopy is less dense or absent. Blackberry 
raspberry, tartarian honeysuckle, red-osier dogwood, chokecherry and wil 
plum form the major growths, which almost halt human passage. This 1 
especially true where ancient trees have died or fallen. At the canopy edgi 
hawthorne spp., smooth sumac, crabapple spp., and woody vines such a: 
riverbank grape and woodbine, are abundant. 
In the open areas the ground cover is formed by dense mats of quack 
grass, smooth brome, Canada and Kentucky bluegrass. Forbs such as dais} 
fleabane, wild carrot, lesser ragweed, flat-topped goldenrod, and New Eng 
land aster are abundant. 
Thirty acres are vegetated by an old orchard. Forbs, grasses and shrub: 
are much the same as recorded for open areas. 
Forty acres of conifers—mostly douglas fir, red and white pine, plantec 
around 1930 to 1940, native red cedar, and arbor vitae—are found 01 
scattered units at the south end of the dashed line (Fig. 1). There is little 
shrub or herbaceous cover immediately beneath these trees since the sol 
is more acid, and little light can penetrate the dense, year-round foliage 
Just outside of this canopy, shrubs and ground cover take over in the forn 
