August, 1955 



EvERs: Hiij. Prairiks or Illinois 



397 



Hill-Top. — This prairie opening, ^^•hen 

 examined October 5, 1950, occupied 

 about 4.5 acres on the uppermost surface 

 of the bluff, one ra\ine south from the 

 main entrance to the Mississippi Palisades 

 State Park. A mixed forest surrounded 

 the prairie. Sorghastruni nutans was the 

 dominant grass; Panicuin virgaiuiii was 

 abundant. Several paths crossed the prai- 

 rie. Here and for a short distance into 

 the prairie, weeds were common. 



South Palisades. — This prairie occu- 

 pied about 0.2 acre of the generally stony 

 southwest-facing ridge-slope north of the 

 abandoned quarry near the southern 

 boundar\- of the Mississippi Palisades 

 State Park, when observations were made 

 there on June 22 and October 5, 1951. 

 Andropoyon scopaiius was the dominant 

 grass. 



Bieleiiia. — Prairie occupied slighth 

 more than an acre of the bluff on the Hie- 

 lema farm in section 32, T. 23 N., R. 4 

 E., southeast of Thomson, Carroll 

 County, in 1950. Stones strewed the 

 lower slope ; sandy loess comprised the 

 upper. The base of the lower slope, much 

 disturbed by pigs, was weedy. Prairie, 

 with Bouteloua curtipendula and Andro- 

 pogon scoparius as dominant grasses, cov- 

 ered the upper part of the rocky slope. 

 Andropoyon scoparius was the dominant 

 grass on the sandy loess, except where 

 shallow drainagewa\s on both the stony 

 and loess slopes were densely covered by 

 Artemisia caudata. Poa pratensis was the 

 dominant cover on the northern part of 

 the bluff-top; Bouteloua curtipendula 

 dominated the southern part of this sur- 

 face. Bielema prairie was visited June 

 23 and October 6, 1950. 



Balk. — In 1951, two conspicuous prai- 

 rie openings, together about 1 acre, were 

 observed on the upper west-facing slope 

 of the bluff-ridge in section 5, T. 22 N., 

 R. 4 E., in Whiteside County. The south- 

 ern opening and the surrounding forest 

 were frequented h\ pigs; the northern 

 opening, which was separated from the 

 southern by a fence, was unpastured. Bou- 

 teloua hirsuta and Stipa spartea occurred 

 in these 'Openings. This site was \isitcd 

 June 13, 1951. 



Wiersnia. — Hill prairie, about 0.5 acre 

 in area, occupied the upper west-facing 



slope of the bluff-ridge on the W'iersma 

 farm in sect'on 8. T. 22 N., R. 4 E., 

 Whiteside County, in 1950. Bouteloua 

 curtipendula was apparently the dominant 

 grass; Andropogon scoparius was locally 

 abundant. The entire ridge was heavily 

 pastured. Wiersma prairie was visited 

 October 6, 1950. 



Rock Island 31. — This site, located in 

 section 31, T. 15 .\., R. 5 W., Rock 

 Island County, was visited September 9, 

 1949. The slope, heavily pastured, and 

 covered with a mixture of prairie and for- 

 est, was stony below and capped with 

 sandy loess. Andropogon scoparius, A. 

 ycrardi, Sorghastruni nutans, and Boute- 

 loua hirsuta were some of the grasses on 

 this slope. 



Bald Bluff. — The name denotes the 

 prominent, narrow, northwest-projecting 

 arm of the Mississippi bluffs in section 

 IS, T. 12 N., R. 4 W., Henderson Coun- 

 ty. Mantled with sandy loess, Bald Bluff 

 supported both mixed forest and prairie 

 when visited. This prairie, with an abun- 

 dance of Bouteloua hirsuta and many 

 ueed> species, was heavily pastured. Prai- 

 rie covered about 9 acres, 3 of which were 

 examined on August 18, 1951. 



Ursa. — W^hen visited, this hill prairie 

 occupied the southwest- and west-facing 

 slopes on the north side of Ursa Creek 

 \alle\' where the creek enters the Missis- 

 sippi River bottomland in section 13, T. 

 I N., R. 9 W., Adams County. Prairie 

 covered about 1 acre of the slopes. A 

 stony levee and small spring-fed stream 

 separated the road on the west from the 

 bluff to the east. The stony east bank 

 of the stream supported prairie. Small 

 rock outcrops capped the stream bank. 

 Above these outcrops the surface was al- 

 most level. A dense stand of Juniperus 

 virginiana with scattered individuals of 

 Quercus inuhlenbergii and Cornus drum- 

 niondi grew on the level surface near the 

 limestone outcrops. Eastward there was 

 a narrow belt of prairie and beyond that 

 a thicket which included small oaks, bass- 

 wood, and hop hornbeam. This thicket 

 bordered the base of a steep loess spur 

 which was covered by prairie up to the 

 top of the bluff. Prairie covered the 

 southwest-facing spurs, mixed forest the 

 coves. The liluft'-top was :i mixture of 



