Article III. — The Vertebrate Life of certain Prairie and For- 

 est Regions near Charleston, Illinois. By T. L. Hankinson. 



Introduction 



During August, 19 lo, a study was made of the biological condi- 

 tions of a piece of prairie and a piece of woodland near Charleston, 

 Coles County, Illinois, by Mr. Charles C. Adams, of the University 

 of Illinois, who studied the invertebrates; by Mr. E. N. Transeau, 

 of the Eastern Illinois State Normal School, at Charleston, who 

 studied the plants ; and by the writer, who' gave particular attention 

 to the vertebrate life. Embodied in this paper are the notes taken 

 at this time on the vertebrates, together with other notes on verte- 

 brates taken during occasional visits to the places since then. 



The two areas chosen for the work here reported are located as 

 follows. The prairie, in section 35, township 13 N., range 9 E., is a 

 bit of right-of-way of the Toledo, St. Louis and Western Railroad, 

 about two miles north of the center of the city of Charleston, extend- 

 ing some sixteen hundred feet along the east side of the track, just 

 north of the east and west wagon-road which here crosses the rail- 

 road. This place will be frequently referred to in this paper as Sta- 

 tion I. The woodland, chiefly in section 5, township 12 N., range 

 10 E., is about three and a half miles northeast of the center of 

 Charleston and covers about one hundred and sixty acres of the farm 

 owned by Mr. J. I. Bates. We called this Bates woods — Station II 

 of diis paper. These two areas are shown on the map, Plate EXIV. 



In selecting areas for special study, an attempt was made to get 

 those as little disturbed by man as possible and representing at the 

 same time the two prevailing types of country about Charleston, 

 namely, forest and prairie. Such conditions are hard to find in a 

 region so extensively cultivated as Coles County. In a part of the 

 country of this character the most extensive representations of origi- 

 nal prairie features are usually along railway rights-of-way. This 

 fact governed us in the selection of Station I as representative 

 prairie. As representative forest. Bates woods (Station II) was 

 chosen, because it seemed less disturbed than any other piece of for- 

 est available for study. 



