378 
and loess slopes. The Phegley prairie 
was pastured; the Sampson was not. 
Thus, it was possible to compare pastured 
and unpastured prairie slopes in the same 
locality. =e 
Because Phegley and Sampson prairies 
were accessible to the writer by automo- 
bile, no laborious and time-consuming 
ascent from the bottomland, up the basal 
slopes and over the rock ledge, was neces- 
ae 
= 
Ittrnois NaturAL History Survey BULLETIN 
Vol. 26, Art. 5 
sary; steep climbs are necessary to attain 
the majority of hill prairies in Illinois. 
Study Procedures.—For detailed veg- 
etation studies in hill prairie, the upper 
slopes of spurs seemed to be the best sites 
because these slopes had a vegetation that 
was nearly “pure’’ prairie, and they had 
surfaces that showed little erosion. The 
steep spur fronts, figs. 6 and 7, contained 
species characteristic of prairie but showed 
UPHILL 
oe ol 
Fig. 8.—A 1-milacre quadrat in the pastured Phegley hill prairie, charted October 9 and 
10, 1951, by A. G. Vestal and R. A. Evers. A, Andropogon scoparius; S, Solidago nemoralis; 
|, Lespedeza stipulacea; B, Bouteloua curtipendula; G, Gerardia sp.; P, Petalostemum pur- 
pureum; H, Houstonia nigricans; D, Desmodium ciliare; L, Lespedeza capitata; E, Euphorbia 
corollata; £, Cassia fasciculata; J, Juniperus virginiana; \s, Linum sulcatum; N, Senecio plat- 
tensis: v, Polygala verticillata; and d, Hedeoma hispida. 
