PUBLIC PARKS OF IOWA 115 



The timber along the Iowa river in former days was much used for rail- 

 road ties; the best has, however, long since been removed. There is, 

 however, still some merchantable timber which is being cut into lumber, 

 and much is used for fuel. Of the gray or cherry birch (Betula lutea) 

 there were trees twelve inches in diameter which might very profitably be 

 used for lumber. 



The forests have been much injured; there is, in fact, general com- 

 plaint that the forests do not do as well as formerly. Several causes have 

 led to this. The unseasonable winter of 1898-1899 killed many trees or 

 injured them so severely that they will never recover, and should at 

 once be cut out. Trees varying from saplings to those one and a half 

 and two feet were destroyed by this freeze. Some of these trees have 

 attained an age of fifty to seventy-five years. Is it possible that during 

 all these years Iowa has not experienced such a winter? Where there 

 are solid bodies of large trees still standing it is reasonable to suppose that 

 the conditions during the past season were unusual, or man has so 

 modified present conditions that trees have been unable to resist unsea- 

 sonable climatic conditions. In going through these forests one cannot 

 help but notice that man is responsible. I passed through acres of tim- 

 ber in which the ground had scarcely a weed growing the ground was 

 bare. It had been stocked to such an extent that there was no longer 

 any covering or protection to the roots. The farmer in Hardin county 

 and elsewhere in the state, is attempting to grow two crops on the same 

 ground at the same time. It is evident that unless the farmers adopt a 

 different system of treating the forest they must, sooner or later, lose 

 what little timber is remaining. There are many points along the Iowa 

 river, in Hardin County, that can never be utilized for farming purposes, 

 which should be devoted to forestry. Iowa Geological Survey, Annual 

 Report, 1899, Vol. X, p. 306, with some additions. 



TOPOGRAPHY OF BOONE COUNTY. 

 By L. H. Pammel, Botanist. 



The -topography of Boone county has the character of a drift plain. It 

 is flat, except near the streams. The Des Homes, which is the principal 

 river, enters the county in Pilot Mound township and flows in a southerly 

 direction, dividing the county into two parts. The Des Molnes valley is 

 narrow, with numerous small tributaries, also narrow, often with gorges. 

 The most important of these are found in the vicinity of Moingona, com- 

 monly called the Ledges. 



The streams are Bear, Pease, Eversole, Caton, Elk and Bluff Creeks. 

 The terraces along the Des Moines river, and other streams, show the 

 recent development of these streams. Squaw Creek, a tributary to the 

 Skunk river, drains the northeastern part of the county. 



