g2 IOWA ACADEMY OF SCIENCES. 



of Drosera ratundifolia and Pogonia ophioqlossoides, where the soil is very 

 peaty and wet, appear. 



During the past thirty years some important changes have taken place in 

 the gi'owth of timber along the river. The pioneer settler found little tim- 

 ber on the hills, except those with a northern slope. The timber standing 

 on the sunny side was usually of poor quality, owing to numerous fires. 

 Now, these lands are mostly fenced and fires are kept out, at least by the 

 more enterprising farmers. The bleak hills are being rapidly covered with 

 a forest growth. 



It is not an uncommon thing to observe patches of Hazel {Corylus ameri- 

 cana, Walt.) beyond the outskirts of the timber; here, in the course of a few 

 years, will be found Oaks, Birches, Hickories and Poplars. The humus 

 formed where Hazel grows is extremely rich and fertile, and I doubt 

 whether trees could cover our treeless hills very fast without its help. 



The best Oak growing along the Upper Mississippi is the White Oak 

 {Quercus alba, L.). It is not uncommon to find trees with trunks eight to 

 twelve feet in circumference. This species once covered a considerable 

 portion of the ridges, especially on clay soil. The shaded slope on which 

 the snow long remains in the spring is also a favorable situation for it. 

 Youug growth of White Oak is rapidly covering situations of this character, 

 which formerly contained no timber. Flattened expansions of the stem 

 are found just underneath the sui-face of the ground. From these arise a 

 number of trunks. It is not improbable that, before the country was 

 settled, late fires in spring kept the forest growth down, but after the ces- 

 sation of fires a vigorous growth started. The timber of the White Oak is 

 uniformly straighter and easier to cut than the Scarlet Oak {Q. Coccinea, 

 Wang) or Black Oak (Q. tinctoria, Bartram). These Oaks grow in more 

 exposed localities whex*e the soil is drier and vegetation starts earlier in the 

 spring, and for this reason fires usually damaged them more than any of 

 the others. The old timber is usually gnarled and hard to split. The young 

 growth is, however, straight and easy to work where fires are kept out. 

 The soils on which they occur vary considerably. They do well on sandy, 

 gravelly soil, as well as on clay and black soil, and even make considerable 

 growth on poor, sandy soil. 



Q. coccinea, Wang, is the more common species, although the foi'ms are 

 puzzling. The Red Oak (Q. rubra, L.) is the finest of the Oaks in this region 

 so far as beauty is concerned. The trees are tall and straight, and some- 

 times yield five coi'ds of wood. It is not an uncommon thing for them 

 to yield three cords. The wood is easily worked, and this is owing largely 

 to the locality and soil where the species usually grows. The large trees 

 were less effected by the early forest fires than were the Black Oaks. 

 The Red Oak occurs principally on shaded hill-slopes, where the snow long 

 remains on the ground, also on clay ridges and black bottom lands. Young 

 ti'ees of Q. rubra, are the most easily recoguizable of the Black Oaks when 

 growing in such localities. Smooth bark and straight trunk, with few lateral 

 branches distinguish them at once from specimens of Q. tinctoi-ia and 

 Q. coccinea. 



One of the most variable Oaks, at least so far as general appearances go, 

 is the Bur Oak (Q. macrocarj)a, Michx.). On the sandy soil it is diminutive in 

 size, producing numerous lateral branches. Here it is a spreading tree. 



