In the Gorgani we soon distinguish two forest zones. [109]The lower one has principally beech woods, with an admixture of firs and maples; the upper one consists almost entirely of fir woods. Their upper limit usually lies at a height of from 1500 to 1600 m., but the zekoti (seas of sandstone boulders), which cover all the higher peaks and ridges, reduce the upper tree limit a great deal in some places. In the Chornohory, a similar division of the forest zone prevails. Oak forests, with thick underbrush, cover the foot of the range on both slopes. Above the oak woods lies the zone of mixed forests, in which white and red beech, birch, ash, maple and firs predominate. Above the height of 1300 m. lies the upper tree zone, which is made up of stocks of fir entirely. The upper tree limit lies at a height of 1700 m. The milder climate of the Chornohory matures a much more luxurious and a richer vegetation than in other parts of the Ukrainian Carpathians. In the forest zones of the Carpathians, great complex primeval forests have survived to a great extent. They lie in inaccessible places, which the bandit axe of the professional forest destroyer has not yet penetrated. The Carpathian virgin forest is, perhaps, the most beautiful plant formation of the Ukraine. Giant firs, as much as 60 m. in height and six feet thick, raise their dark green slender pyramids above rocky slopes and immense wind-fallen woods, in which the modern firs lie in piles. Thick shrubbery covers the clearings, while in the eternal semi-darkness of the thickets, on rocky ground covered with needles, just an occasional pillow of moss may be found. A second plant-formation of the Carpathians is that of the dwarf-shrubs. They develop above the forest limit and cover wide areas in the Gorgani and Chornohori. Mountain fir (zerep), accompanied by juniper (in the Beskyds and Gorgani) and by dwarf-alder bushes (lelich, in the Chornohory), in thickets which are impassible in places. The formerly widely distributed stone pine has become [110]rare, since its fragrant wood is preferred by the mountain-dwellers for all sorts of woodwork. The third plant formation of the Carpathians are their mountain meadows (polonini). They lie above the forest limit and begin to appear at the source of the San. Toward the southeast they become constantly more luxuriant and more frequent. The grass and herb growth of the polonini is very varied and rich, especially in the so-called zarinki, that is, parts of the mountain meadows where hay is made. The polonini are of great importance to the inhabitants of the mountains. Great herds of horses, cattle and sheep remain here all summer. The polonini are peopled, and a life of great privation—a hard life but free—develops in primitive dairy huts, with never dying camp-fires.