200 ILLINOIS ACADEMY OP SCIENCE 



Conclusions. 



1. Jo Daviess county was originally a forest land, and 

 forests were encroaching on the prairies and other land 

 at the time of settlement. 



2. The original virgin timber has all been exploited. 



3. About 10 to 15 per cent of the remaining forest land 

 may be classed as heavily culled, while there is only about 

 five per cent of merchantable timber in solid blocks. Its 

 main use at present is for posts and fuel. 



4. Most of the remaining forest occupies rough land, too 

 steep for agriculture. By protecting this from the grazing 

 of cattle, sheep, and hogs the forests will rapidly renew 

 themselves. 



5. A great deal of cultivated and pasture land should 

 be reforested, since it is potentially forest land, and cut- 

 ting away the forest has resulted in erosion, with all the 

 attendant evils. 



6. Practically all of the northeast slopes in the county 

 are mesophytic or mesotropic oak associations. 



7. The varieties of soil are few — over most of the area 

 only four in number. The character of the soil not only 

 determines the composition of species growing on it but 

 markedly influences their growth. Forest types are closely 

 related to soil types. 



8. Jo Daviess county has some forest that should be 

 acquired by the state as a protection forest, to conserve the 

 water in the stream and for aesthetic and scientific pur- 

 poses. Deforestation has markedly decreased the volume 

 of water in the streams, rendering them irregular in flow 

 and liable to floods. It has also lowered the level of 

 ground-water from 8 to 12 feet below its former level. 



