ArticIvE IV. — Forest Conditions in Illinois. By R. Cufford 

 Hall and O. D. Ingall, Forest Assistant and Forest Agent, Forest 

 Service, U. S. Department of Agriculture. 



Introduction 



Illinois as a timber-producing state is so overshadowed by Illinois 

 as an agricultural and mining state that little thought is given to the 

 forests as a source of wealth. Yet the output of her sawmills in 

 native timber amounted in 1909 to one hundred and fifteen million 

 board feet,* which represents sawed material alone and excludes such 

 forest products as hewed ties, piling, posts, fuel, and timber for 

 general use on the farm. Evidently the woodlands are of importance 

 as a source of income at least in some parts of the state. Now that 

 the country is beginning to give belated attention to the conservation 

 of all natural resources, the questions naturally arise, what is the 

 extent and condition of our forest lands, and how can they be treated 

 so that they will continue to be productive? The object of this report 

 is to answer these questions for Illinois. It is based on an investi- 

 gation conducted during the winter and spring of 1910 by the Forest 

 Service, United States Department of Agriculture, in cooperation 

 with the State Laboratory of Natural History. The portion of the 

 state covered in this work may be divided into two parts, one lying 

 south of Centralia and the other along the Mississippi from the mouth 

 of the Illinois to the Wisconsin boundary line. Outside of this terri- 

 tory there are but few areas where woodland covers any extent of 

 country. 



An important part of the report is a forest map, showing the 

 broad forest types and their occurrence. These were found to depend 

 on soil and other physiographic features, and, therefore, in deter- 

 mining type boundaries it was possible to use data furnished by the 

 State Soil and Geological Surveys to supplement the field work. 

 Isolated areas of original prairie are not indicated, as these are 

 usually invaded' by the surrounding forests. The figures within the 

 boundaries of each type in a county show the percentage of forest 

 land of that type within the borders of the county. 



To supplement the description of each of the principal forest types, 

 a table is included showing the proportion of the different species in 



♦This excludes timber from other states, and hence is less than the figure given 

 in the Census Bulletin, which is 170,000,000 board feet 



