Mike, That is part of one of the questions we need to address with regard to these tree sites. Is Mohawk Trails SF really a superior site for growing pines, or is it an average site that simply was not ever cut? If you look at the history of many sites, Cook Forest and Hearts Content, here in Pennsylvania are two examples, they are currently some of the best white pine sites in the northeast. They could be by any measure be considered exemplary. However when they were originally preserved, it was not because they were such fantastic sites. They were preserved because they were located in the immediate vicinity of the homes of the lumber barons who were logging the forests. They wanted to retain a nice patch of woods around their homes for aesthetics, for hunting, and similar purposes. The locations are still remaining primarily because of chance proximity to these homes. There is little reason to believe that these locations are also by pure chance sites that are particularly great fro growing trees. They are not below average, but are they superior?
In the case of individual trees something can be inferred about the genetics of the biggest of the trees. They only can be among the biggest if they are a combination of both growing on a superior site and if they are in the upper range genetically for growth. For trees of average or smaller in size, there is no way to tell if the lack of height is due to poor growing conditions or are a reflection of the genetic makeup of the tree itself. That being said, I don't see how a similar argument can be made for the superiority of most of the current sites containing some of the largest white pine trees. Ed "The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the source of all true art and all science." - Albert Einstein ----- Original Message ----- From: Mike Leonard To: [email protected] Sent: Tuesday, August 11, 2009 4:21 PM Subject: [ENTS] Re: Back to Bob about Wednesday It will be interesting to see those big pines and wonder what makes that site so superior for growing white pine? "The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the source of all true art and all science." - Albert Einstein --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ Eastern Native Tree Society http://www.nativetreesociety.org Send email to [email protected] Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/entstrees?hl=en To unsubscribe send email to [email protected] -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
