Page:The Granite Monthly Volume 2.djvu/84

76 And now, upon this merry, festal day, The silver milestone of the earthward way, I, too, would add my wishes most sincere, For richer blessings in each coming year; And when the "game of life" at last is done. Each foeman vanquished and each victory won, May these dear friends, resigning earthly things, Be crowned with glory by the "King of Kings."

The whole State was originally covered with a dense forest growth, the principal kinds of timber being pines, spruces, oaks, and hickories, beech, chestnut, white, red and sugar maples, butternut, birches, elm, white and black ashes, basswood, and poplars. A striking contrast is shown in the aspect of the northern and southern portions of the State, caused by differences of temperature due to altitude, the transition being gradual, some species becoming scarce, and finally disappearing, while others first appearing in small numbers increase as we go north or south until they may become the prevailing kinds. A few species occur throughout the entire State. A line drawn from North Conway to Lake Winnipiseogee, and from thence to Hanover, would somewhat distinctly divide the northern from the southern types. This transition area would be at an elevation of about 600 feet above tide, corresponding with the annual mean of 45°, or of 20° in winter and 65° in the summer mouths.

Among the species characteristic of the more southern type, which here find their northern limit may be mentioned the chestnut, white oak, spoon-wood or mountain laurel, and frost-grape. The range of pines and walnuts, of white or river maple, red oak and hemlock, is also mainly southern. The more characteristic trees of the northern class are the sugar-maple, beech, balsam-fir, black and white spruce, and arbor-vitae, and of smaller trees the mountain ash and striped maple. Of these the white spruce and arbor-vitæ have the most limited range. The former is abundant about Connecticut Lake, but occurs rarely, if at all, South of Colebrook. The latter (Thuja Occidentalis), is also common in this section, extending south to the vicinity of the White Mountains, and is also occasionally found in highland swamps farther south.

The pine family forms the most important feature of the landscape, and has been an important source of wealth to the State. The white pine originally filled all the river valleys with a heavy growth, extending along that of the Connecticut to the northern boundary. This growth has now nearly disappeared before the lumberman's ax, but the great abundance of saplings in the southern part of the State shows that this species is still the principal conifer of that section. Passing northward into Coos County, we find the white pine much restricted in area, occurring mostly at the headwaters of the streams, and mainly confined to the first-growth specimens, saplings being of rare occurrence, even where the land is allowed to return to forest after clearing.

The pitch and red pines are of more limited range, the former (P. rigida) occurring most along the sandy plains and drift knolls of the river valleys, scarcely growing on hills that attain much elevation above the sea level. It is found most abundantly in the southeastern part of the State, and in the Merrimack