150 



southwest. About one-third of the region was originally covered with heavy tim- 

 ber, and the soil of this j)art is a clayey loam. The soil of the very small areas 

 of prairie land is a sandy loam, and the swamps are tilled with rich, black muck 

 and peat many feet deep. This is the general distribution, but pure sand and 

 clay are often found by themselves, over more or less extensive areas. Occasion- 

 ally sand and muck are found in combination. 



These different soils furnish sustenance for a flora of a widely varied species, 



while those thriving best in wet soil or growing in water will predominate. 



• 



LOCAL PHYSIOGRAPHIC CONDITIONS. 



In the northern part of Steuben County, to the extreme northeast of the 

 region, are localities of pure sand of rather extensive area, and lakes entirely 

 surrounded by sand and lime deposits, around whose edges, and in whose bot- 

 toms, scarcely any vegetation is to be found. Sandy spots devoid of vegetation 

 are occasionally found throughout the region, but of very limited extent. The 

 Steuben County tracts are quite peculiar to their immediate vicinity, and per- 

 haps should not be included. In none of the other counties do we find entire 

 lakes so destitute of vegetation. I have counted over ten plants in Bradner's 

 list^^ characteristic of a barren soil which are not found so far, or only occa- 

 sionally, in the rest of the region. In general, there would seem to be the greatest 

 prevalence of plants characteristic of lighter sandy soil in Steuben County, the 

 greatest prevalence of plants indicative of a wet, peaty soil in Kosciusko County, 

 and rather more of a mixture of the two in Noble County, between. But a very 

 general uniformity of species will be found throughout the region, which will 

 increase with closer study and more extended collecting. 



PHYSIOGRAPHIC CHANGES. 



1. Low Swamps. The lakes are for the most part surrounded by low lauds 

 or marshes, which show that the lakes were once of much greater extent. Soil is 

 accumulating around these lakes by the growth and decay, from season to season, 

 of the rank vegetation around the edges, and this process is continually diminish- 

 ing the size of the lakes, forming large marshes, which are being drained by 

 ditching and tiling. A great deal of valuable land has thus been reclaimed and 

 successfully farmed. 



^niih Rep. Sute Geologist Ind., 1891-2, p. 135. 



