39 



To tlie meadows came such forms as the Bay-winged Sparrow {Poocfetes (jramineus 

 Omelin), Field Sparrow [Spizella pusilla Wilson), Grasshopper Sparrow (^4/7i?/io- 

 dramioi savannarum jaa.s.se/'f'nus Wilson), ^Meadow Lark {Sfuniella magna L. ), 

 meadow mice, garter snakes, green snakes, Jjumblebees 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 sucli 

 places, came. Among them Marsh Wrens, Swamp Sparrows (Melospiza georgiana 

 Latii.), and Ecd-winged Blackbirds {Agelaius phwniceus I^. ), salamanders, frogs, 

 water snakes, a<iuatic insects and marsh ])lants. As the orchard and garden de- 

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

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

 ing conditions. Tiie number of settlers increased, causing a st«ady 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 tlie Black Kat [Mus rattus T>. ). I^ater another form, the 

 Brown Bat (3fus decumannit I'allas), which, like the first, was a native of the old 

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

 and has since occupied its place. The shy (iray Fox {Uroci/on cinereo-aryentatus 

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

 { Vulpea fulpes L.) occupied the field left vacant. The hog, a most valuable factor 

 in the development of the West, proved eijually 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 effect upon 

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

 be it salamanders, fishes, mollusks, 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 lived among their reeds and flags, mingling their voices with those of the 

 frogs, disappeared, and the 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 effect 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 w-as brought life from the surrounding woods, and the 

 former occupants were driven out. 



