80 ILLINOIS STATE ACADEMY OF SCIENCE 



course the average temperature is colder than that of the 

 rest of the state. The vegetation in these bogs would be ex- 

 posed to cold northwesterly winds on the approach of cold 

 waves, as they are far enough away from the lake to lose 

 any tempering effect from those waters. The vegetation of 

 this region was originally the prevailing Oak Hickory forest 

 of Illinois, so that the patches of tamarack trees found in 

 the bogs make a very striking contrast to the trees inhabit- 

 ing the rest of this region. 



DESCRIPTION OF INDIVIDUAL BOGS. 



1. Cedar Lake Bog. — Cedar Lake is located in Section 

 32, T. 46 N., R. 10 E. It is about three-quarters of a mile 

 long and half a mile wide and is roughly oval or pear-shaped 

 in outline, with its longest diameter extending north and 

 south. The water is shallow over most of the lake, but ac- 

 cording to local testimony a rather deep basin is found in 

 the north central portion. The shores show evidences of 

 earlier stages of high water, three or four feet above the 

 present level, under which conditions the waters of the lake 

 had an outlet through a channel which apparently passed 

 just northeast of the present railroad station, as its banks 

 can still be traced in a southeasterly direction to another 

 small lake called Mud Lake. The vegetation on the ridges 

 surrounding the lake was originally typical oak hickory 

 forest with large numbers of red cedar trees on the more ex- 

 posed shores. These forests have been almost entirely 

 cleared away with only a very open patch of forest remain- 

 ing on the upland northeast of the lake. 



The bog lies in the form of a crescent in the north end of 

 the lake. It is separated from the shore on the north by a 

 stretch of shallow water one to two hundred yards across 

 containing grass hummock formation. At either end of the 

 crescent the swampy space is narrow and partakes more of 

 the character of the typical moat of open water which 

 usually surrounds a bog. With the rough apparatus avail- 

 able, there was found to be a depth of at least ten feet of 

 water under the mat in the center of the bog. The bog con- 

 sists of a quaking mat whose framework is made up of the 

 roots of dwarf birch, blueberry, and cranberry with filling 

 of sphagnum moss and also marsh marigold, buck bean, cot- 



