39 



To the meadows came such forms as the Bay-winged Sparrow {Pooca'tes gramineiia 

 Gmelin), Field Sparrow (Spizella piisiUa Wilson), Grasshopper Sparrow {Aynmo- 

 dramiis savannarum passermus Wilson), Meadow Lark (Stv.riiella, magna L. ), 

 meadow mice, garter snakes, green snakes, bumblebees and grasshoppers— species 

 peculiar to such surroundings. Some parts of this land were wet and where the 

 drainage was poorest, became swamps and sloughs. There, forms which love such 

 places, came. .Vmong them Marsh Wrens, Swamp Sparrows [Melospiza gem-giana 

 Lath.), and Red-winged Blackbirds (Agelaiiis phivnicevs L. ), salamanders, frogs, 

 water snakes, acjuatic insects and marsh plants. As the orchard and garden de- 

 veloped, birds well known to us and greatly beloved for their cheery social ways, 

 there made their home and lived upon food brought to the locality by the chang- 

 ing conditions. The number of settlers increased, causing a steady diminution in 

 the numbers of all the larger mammals, especially those used for food or valuable 

 for fur ; of geese, ducks and other water loving birds. The early settlers had 

 brought with them the Black Bat (Mus rattus L. ). I^ater another form, the 

 Brown Rat {Mus deciimawis Pallas), which, like the first, was a native of the old 

 world, appeared, following the routes of civilization. It drove out the other rat 

 and h;is since occupied its place. The shy Gray Fox ( Urocijon cinereo-argentatiis 

 Schreber), disappeared in advance of the incoming pioneer and the Bed .Fox 

 ( Vulpen vulpes L.) occupied the field left vacant. The hog, a most valuable factor 

 in the development of the West, proved equally valuable as an ally in the warfare 

 against snakes. Largely through its efforts were the rattlesnakes and copperheads 

 destroyed. 



Removing the timber and breaking the ground began to show its eflfect upon 

 springs and water courses. Many became dry during the warm season. All life, 

 be it salamanders, fishes, moUusks, insects or plants, that found therein a home, 

 died. As time went on drainage became a feature introduced into the new coun- 

 try. With the draining of our sloughs and swamps other changes came. . The birds 

 that liv%d among their reeds and flags, mingling their voices with those of the 

 frogs, disappeared, and tlie land reclaimed tells, in its luxuriant growth of corn, 

 no story to the casual passer-by of the former population which occupied it. 



And so it was. Change succeeded change. Little by little, but still each 

 cleared field, each drained swamp, each rotation of crops, each one of a thousand 

 variations in cause had its efTect upon the numbers and life histories of our plants 

 and animals. 



When the Indians left, the prairies were no longer annually burned over. 

 Forest vegetation began to seize upon this open land, and in time much of it 

 became reforested. Into it was brought life from the surrounding woods, and the 

 former occupants were driven out. 



