ee
generations, were always there and that the primeval forest of colonial
times was no better. But that is a mistake. The stunted growth now seen
is not even second growth but in many cases fourth or fifth or more. The
whole region was cut over long ago. The original growth, pine in many
places, consisted also of lofty timber of oak, hickory, gum, ash,
chestnut, and numerous other trees, interspersed with dogwood,
sassafras, and holly, and in the swamps the beautiful magnolia, along
with the valuable white cedar. DeVries, who visited the Jersey coast
about 1632, at what is supposed to have been Beesley's or Somer's Point,
describes high woods coming down to the shore. Even today, immediately
back of Somer's Point, there is a magnificent lofty oak forest
accidentally preserved by surrounding marsh from the destructive
forest fires; and there are similar groves along the road towards
Pleasantville. In fact, the finest forest trees flourish in that region
wherever given a good chance. Even some of the beaches of Cape May had
valuable oak and luxuriant growths of red cedar; and until a few years
ago there were fine trees, especially hollies, surviving on Wildwood
Beach.

The Jersey white cedar swamps were, and still are, places of fascinating
interest to the naturalist and the botanist. The hunter or explorer
found them scattered almost everywhere in the old forest and near its
edges, varying in size from a few square yards up to hundreds of acres.
They were formed by little streams easily checked in their flow through
the level land by decaying vegetation or dammed by beavers. They kept
the water within the country, preventing all effects of droughts,
stimulating the growth of vegetation which by its decay, throughout
the centuries, was steadily adding vegetable mold or humus to the sandy
soil. This process of building up a richer soil has now been largely
stopped by lumbering, drainage, and fires.

While there are many of these swamps left, the appearance of numbers
of them has largely changed. When the white men first came, the great
cedars three or four feet in diameter which had fallen centuries before
often lay among the living trees, some of them buried deep in the mud
and preserved from decay. They were invaluable timber, and digging them
out and cutting them up became an important industry for over a hundred
years. In addition to being used for boat building, they made excellent
shingles which would last a lifet