THE NEW EARTH 



any district so organized, six commissioners are 

 to be appointed by the Governor of the state, 

 whose duty it shall be to administer the forest 

 preserve law; and, in pursuance of this duty, 

 the commissioners are empowered to designate 

 by ordinance, streets, roads, avenues, boulevards 

 and highways as public driveways, and may 

 restrain and control the speed of travel on such 

 highways and throughout such forest preserves. 

 Comparatively little attention has been paid in 

 the past either to the preservation or regenera- 

 tion of forests in Illinois. A very considerable 

 number of individuals have planted groves 

 varying from one to several acres in extent, 

 and some of these have succeeded well. In the 

 aggregate, a very large number of trees have 

 been planted since the settlement of the state 

 began, but these have been mostly in shelter 

 belts and in small areas upon farms, as well as 

 along streets in the cities and the waysides 

 throughout the country. The region of the 

 state which was originally prairie proved to be 

 well adapted to tree -growth, but since this 

 land is desirable for agricultural purposes, no 

 forest planting has been done. The Illinois 

 Central Railroad has made some rather exten- 



162 



