PUBLIC PARKS OF IOWA 95 



much of the beauty and charm of this region will be destroyed if means 

 are not taken by the public to defend its own lights. It can not safely 

 be forgotten that the public has rights here, even though the land may 

 be entirely under private ownership. The public is the first owner 

 and its claims are paramount, though nearly always obscured and lost 

 sight of by the more insistent demands of private possession. Judicious 

 timbering, of course, may be beneficial, but intelligent application of 

 the principles of forestry is rare. The writer has only recently seen 

 example after example of wood cutting on steep slopes and hillsides 

 which was leaving these spots bare and ugly, destroying the minor vege- 

 tation and exposing the land to devastation by erosion, which will be 

 certain to begin quickly and to work surely. 



One of the most striking features of the Palisades is the large num- 

 ber of evergreen trees which dot their surface. These are found not 

 merely as a fringe covering the summit of the walls, as is commonly 

 the case in northern Iowa, but upon nearly the whole face may be seen 

 the low spreading ground spruce or the gnarled, twisted, knotty trunk of 

 the hardy cedar. No doubt this condition is due largely to the char- 

 acter of the rock, w'hich here weathers into an exceedingly uneven 

 surface which gives some footing for the roots of these daring wanderers. 

 The cliff making strata of northeastern Iowa, on the other hand, weather 

 with smoother faces, and thus afford little opportunity for the growth 

 of trees. But it is a never-ceasing wonder how these trees, hardy as they 

 are, can find moisture and food sufficient to permit even a precarious ex- 

 istence upon these barren rock walls. 



The Palisades of the Cedar are one of nature's parks. No one who 

 has seen them even casually, as it were, will dispute that fact. The 

 public should have ready access to and free use of the advantages and 

 opportunities for rest and recreation and aesthetic development which 

 they afford. This statement is equally axiomatic with the other. In such 

 a case, therefore, it is time that the public, through its organized ma- 

 chinery of government, should move forward and take steps to come 

 into possession of its own. The cliffs, the river, the hills, the trees, the 

 flowers, the birds are a group of jewels set by a master artist. Let one 

 be mutilated or destroyed and the beautiful harmony of sight and 

 color and sound will be impaired. Already the region is a game pre- 

 serve. Let us make it also a rock preserve, a flower preserve and see 

 that nature is given opportunity to continue the work so well begun. 



THE PALISADES OF THE CEDAR RIVER. 

 By Fred J. Lazell, Author. 



There is much similarity between the Palisades of the Hudson and 

 the Palisades of the Cedar. Both front the river in vertical cliffs; both 

 afford the most picturesque scenery on the respective rivers; both were 

 in danger of being despoiled by stone quarry operators and other com- 

 mercial interests; and both areas ought to be state parks. New York 



