PUBLIC PARKS OF IOWA 121 



of happy boyhood days, singing birds, scampering squirrels and stained 

 fingers those children and their sacks of walnuts bring to our minds. 



It is many years since these little gatherers of nature's treasures have 

 passed down the dusty highway. The incident is now only a memory. 

 But may we not profit by the thoughtfulness and industry of these little 

 gleaners? Wise lads, those happy boys they know from experience that 

 the hickory, butternut or walnut would not always be there for them to 

 gather. Perhaps the little urchins learned the lesson from the squirrels. 



Citizens of Iowa, let us show the same forethought and ambition, and 

 gather for ourselves and posterity the greater treasure that lies in the 

 very center of our .state namely, The Ledges. They are nature's greatest 

 gift to the people of Iowa. The Iowa Magazine, February, 1918. 



FOREST TREES AND SHRUBS IN BOONE COUNTY. 

 By L. H. Pammel, Botanist. 



Central Iowa is not covered extensively with forest growth, and Boone 

 county forms no exception to the rule. Its timbered area is, however, 

 greater than that along the Skunk river in Story county, but fourteen 

 miles distant. The timbered portion of Boone county covers an area vajy- 

 ing from three to six miles in width. It is confined to the Des Moines 

 river and its tributaries. 



Two features are especially noteworthy: first, the timbered area of the 

 alluvial and sandy flood plain of the Des Moines river and its larger 

 tributaries; second, the timber occupying the hilly country, which con- 

 sist of numerous valleys, elevated ridges and hills. There is usually a 

 sharp demarkation of the species of the alluvial flood plain and the hilly 

 country. 



The first airea is occupied almost exclusively by the white elm (Ulmus 

 americana) and the common cork elm (U. racemosa), soft maple (Acer" 

 dasycarpum), box elder (A. negundo), cottoiiwood (Populus monilifeira) , 

 black walnut (Juglans nigra), willow (Salis sps.), and green ash (Fraxinus 

 viridis, F. sambucifoliia). 



Among the hills the dominant trees are red oak (Quercus rubra), bur 

 oak (Q. macrocarpa), white oak (Q. alba), chestnut oak (Q. muhlenbergii), 

 green ash and white elm less common than along the river, butternut 

 (Juglans cinerea), shell-bark hickory (Carya alba) and bitternut (C. 

 amara). 



On steep hillsides facing the river, ironwood (Carpinus caroliniana) 

 and hop hornbeam (Ostrya virgmica) occur. Slippery elm (Ulmus fulva) 

 is abundant. In thickets, Prunus americana, P. virginiana, Pyrus coron- 

 aria, Crataegus mollis, C. punctata, Cornus alternifolia and Viburnum 

 pubescens are also common to the bluffs. 



Without doubt the soil bears an important relation to the kind of tree 

 or shrub produced, and, to a certain extent, the soil and geological forma- 

 tion is an index to plant life. Most collectors in North America have 

 given this subject very little attention. Iowa Geological Survey, Vol. V, p. 

 232. 



