THE PLANT WOELD 71 



advent of man. The problem of forest conditions, especially near the 

 rivers, having been solved in the eastern portion, there was opportunitj- 

 for the increase of species. But the hardy ones were established first 

 and others followed. The forests of central and western Iowa had 

 made their beginning; the sturdy species had stood the test on favor- 

 able ground, and others were following, but the advent of man changed 

 conditions. He made the prairie a farm, and converted the young for- 

 ests into heat and building material. 



Passing backward in time for a space of fifty years, we find the 

 State but thinly settled and nearly all its inhabitants on the eastern 

 side. There were many limited oak forests with fine large trees. The 

 settler chose the best of convenient size to build his home. The saw 

 mill on being brought and convenient!}^ located, was energetically used 

 in producing building materials needed in the rising villages or on the 

 farms. Thousands of trees were made into rails to be used in the old- 

 fashioned worm fences. The advent of the railways caused an increase 

 in the demand for oak timber for many years. The timber was rap- 

 idly disappearing, and many citizens felt apprehensive. But as time 

 goes on conditions change; the universal application of metals materi- 

 ally checked the strain on the timber resources, so that to-day our oak 

 groves as a rule are suffering only from the demands for fuel and fence- 

 posts, along with the greed for more pasture land. The opening of 

 large coal fields in southern Iowa has materially reduced the fuel de- 

 mand. 



The remaining two species of Iowa oaks are Q. eUipsoidalis Hill, 

 found rarely in Scott county, and Q. minor (Marsh.) Sargent, the post 

 or iron oak, w^iich occurs sparingly in groves in the southern part of 

 the State. 



Iowa City, Iowa. 



Probably the largest specimen of the empress tree {Paulownia im- 

 perialis) in America, is in Independence Square, Philadelphia. It is 

 one of the first lot introduced into America about fifty years ago, and 

 was a gift to the city by the late Robert Buist, one of America's famous 

 nurserymen. It is now eleven feet in circumference, equalling in girth 

 some of the old American elms that were in the plot before the Revolu- 

 tion. The wood is in great demand in Japan. It is light and strong. 

 AYhen xlmerican forests disappear, and the planting for timber becomes 

 a flourishing branch of agriculture, the empress tree will give a very 

 good account of herself. — Meehans Monthly. 



