85 



Everywhere were the most valuable varieties of forest growth, such as 

 the oak, walmit, ash, poplar, cherry, maple, elm, hickory, beech, mulberry, 

 buckeye, locust, willow, sycamore, cedar, and some hemlock, each tower- 

 ing and climbing and ever contesting for the necessary liglit of the sun. 

 The lower branches were of little use in the shade and soon died away, 

 thus by the natural pruning leaving the stem of the tree smooth and 

 unbranched. 



To appreciate something of the size of these giants of the forest we 

 need but note the following: 



Common Name. Diantctct 



Burr Oak 7 



White Oak G 



Black Oak 6.5 



Red Oak 7 



Black Walnut 7 



Poplar 8 



Sugar Maple 5 



All the ground was covered with underbrush and litter which had 

 been accumulating for ages, producing a deep, rich loam which is still 

 evident in the richness of tlie cultivated fields. Here were myriads of 

 birds making their homes in the kindly shelter of the trees, and in turn 

 destroying the multitude of insects which threatened the life of the forest. 

 Thus when we closely examine the natural conditions we find the forest is 

 a unit, a natural community in wliich each factor plays its part. An 

 equilibrium is established, the result of the adaptation of each element 

 to its environment; and when this equilibrium is disturbed the result is 

 an undue development of one factor and consequent suppression of others. 

 In this instance thoughtless man has destroyed the equilibrium, and the 

 drying up of the wells and streams, the decrease in fertility of the fields 

 and loss to our crops are a few of the disastrous results. 



Now but little remains to remind us of the luxuriant forests of this 

 county sixty years ago. Here and there are scattered patches of wood- 

 land standing like islands in a wide sea of clearing, and most of these so 

 thinned and mutilated that they can scarcely be called forests at all. 

 To the student of such affairs the destruction of this once mighty forest 

 has all the features of a long' continued tragedy. It is a crime against 

 the past, present and future, a crime which may never be forgiven nor 



