i^O TRANSACTIONS OF THE ILLINOIS 



woodland to the square mile, namely : Clark two hundred one, Wayne 

 two hundred four, tJnion two hundred ten, Gallatin two hundred eleven, 

 Hamilton two hundred eighteen, and Monroe two hundred nineteen. 



Five counties ha\-e between two hundred forty and two hundred 

 eighty acres of forest to the section • Pope two hundred forty-two, Ed- 

 wards two hundred forty-seven, (^alhoun two hundred forty-eight, Hardin 

 two hundred fifty-four, and Williamson two hundred sixty-nine. 



One county only, that of Randolph, has as much as two hundred 

 eighty-one acres of woodland to the section. 



The most heavily wooded region of the Fox River District is found 

 in Boone and AlcHenry, whilst in the Rock River region it is in Jo 

 Daviess. Pike and Scott are most heavily wooded of the counties of 

 the Illinois River District, and Edgar and Coles of the Grand Prairie 

 District. Edwards and the adjoining counties are the most timbered in 

 the Wabash District, and Randol])h and Calhoun in the West. Pope, 

 Hardin, and Williamson rank first in the counties of the Grand Chain. 



Thirty-two counties have more than twenty per cent of their terri- 

 tory in woodland, and therefore come within the line of climatological 

 safety drawn by some climatologists who say that not less than one-fifth 

 of our territory should be planted to trees. Thirty-four counties have 

 ten per cent, only, or less, and undoubtedly would be improved clirnato- 

 logically and otherwise by the planting of trees. 



I submit herewith a map illustrating the distribution of the forests 

 by counties, with the remark that in the future I hojie we may have more 

 exact and frequent information as to the extent, increase, and diminu- 

 tion of our forests. Our new assessment law requires assessors to '' set 

 down in separate columns the number of acres in wheat, corn, oats, 

 meadow, and other field products, in enclosed pasture, orchards, and 

 ivood/aniis, "u'lietlwr enclosed or not, in that year." This will furnish a 

 means hereafter of judging of the increase or diminution of wood- 

 lands from year to year, and obtain a basis of facts for legislation upon 

 the subject of encouragement to tree planting in this State for which 

 we have failed thus far to obtain a law, but for which we should not fail 

 to again memorialize the General Assembly, and present a bill for an act 

 to give such encouragement to tree planting as we think the case de- 

 mands. 



I have said thus much of the general question of woodland in our 

 State in order to place before the Society and the people of the State 

 the latest facts that have been collected, even though I may seem to 

 trespass upon ground assigned to other members of the committee. We 

 need to consider the forest question as affecting a wide scope of country 

 rather than in its immediate effect upon a limited territory in our own 

 State. 



What I have said upon the general topic shows that Southern Illi- 

 nois, upon which I am expected specially to report, has nearly one 

 quarter of its surface clothed with woodland. xNo county has less than 

 one-eighth, and one has seven-sixteenths of its territory in forests. With 



