264 ILLINOIS ACADEMY OF SCIENCE 



The woodland, at the date of survey, covered about 175 

 acres almost wholly of the upland oak type, more than 

 half of which occurs in two scarcely separated areas in 

 Section 26 and 27. The trees are mostly of medium size, 

 showing culling and a lack of reproduction during recent 

 years, due to the almost universal intensive grazing. 



In the southern part of the township, Section 35, the 

 immediate stream valley has a narrow strip of mixed bot- 

 tom forest, continuous with that in Serena township. 



Serena Tovtnship (Map IV). 



While the county maps show the Fox River as the east- 

 ern boundary of Serena township this report covers only 

 that major portion which is included in Township 35 

 North, Range 4 East. Along the Fox River at the south, 

 terrace soils are found near the stream but as they are 

 now largely forested they are included with the bottom 

 land and upland timber soils in the potential forest area 

 which is approximately 7000 acres, or about one-third of 

 the entire township. Less than one-fifth of this area is at 

 present forested for, with a most liberal estimate of what 

 shall be regarded as forest, trees cover approximately 

 only 1300 acres. As in other townships the flood plains are 

 largely cleared, the principal remnants of bottom forest 

 being a narrow strip in Section 3 made up principally of 

 elm, bur oak and walnut, a few acres in Section 8 with 

 elm, ash, basswood and sugar maple, and some larger 

 areas in Section 16 associated with Big Indian Creek and 

 with its confluence with Little Indian Creek. Here the 

 stand is so very open as to be appropriately termed an 

 orchard flood plain pasture, the tree species in order of 

 abundance being bur oak, sugar maple, black walnut, elm, 

 sycamore, locust (Gleditsia), black willow, butternut, 

 bitternut, hickory and papaw. 



Section 3 also shows the largest area of dry oak forest, 

 about 4 acres being found west of the stream and near the 

 tracks of the C. B. & Q. Railroad, while another strip of 

 similar character, also upon the west side of the stream, 

 runs through Sections 28 and 32. The black oaks dom- 

 inate, both species (Quercns ellipsoidalis and Q. velutina) 

 being present, while associated with them are smaller 

 quantities of white and chestnut oak (Q. Muhlenhergii), 

 and even an occasional shingle oak (Q. imhricaria) . 



