PUBLIC PARKS OF IOWA 145 



the autumn I had the pleasure of going to this region, as a guest of the 

 Bixbys. It was indeed, a rare pleasure to view one of the beauty spots 

 of Iowa. 



Leaving the rolling fertile Iowa prairies, with their cornfields and 

 green pastures, we went into a long ravine with a gently sloping road, 

 both sides of the road being lined with one of the most gorgeous display 

 of goldenrods and asters I have ever seen. The autumn tinge of the 

 sumach, dogwood and hard maple covered the steep slopes, The little 

 side ravines were dotted with the hard maple, white oak, quercitron oak, 

 red oak, hickory, slippery elm, basswood and butternut. This ravine con- 

 nects with a larger one, the real mecca of the lover of nature. A beau- 

 tiful stream of pure water fed by springs comes from the adjacent out- 

 crop of limestone. On the steep a carpet of the Canadian yew under the 

 tall gray or sweet birch, red oak, butternut, bitternut, basswood and 

 hickory and white or paper 'birch. In the little narrow valley were the 

 great red oaks, sugar and black maple and basswood. Every moist rock 

 on the hillside was covered with great masses of the bladder fern and 

 great bunches of osmunda and spleenwort presented a paradise for the 

 lover of plants and the lover of wild life in general. Not a tree has been 

 cut in this area, except where it was necessary to do so for the general 

 good of the preserve, since it is the idea of Mr. Bixby that this place shall 

 be a park, in the true sense of the word. 



My botanical work here was done somewhat hurriedly, but I noted 

 the following plants in the region. (The list is not arranged in sys- 

 tematic order). Aster (Aster sagittifolius), A. Dmnimondii, A. laevis, A. 

 sericeus, A. Novae-angliae, A. novibelgii, A. multiflorus, A. umlbellatus), 

 golden rods (Solidago canadensis, S. serotina, S. ulmifolia, S. latifolia, S. 

 speciosa, S. nemoralis), boneset (Eupatorium purpureum, E. ageratoides, 

 E. perfoliatum), ferns (Cystopteris fragilis, C. bulbifera, Asplenium Filix- 

 femina, Adiantum pedatum, Pteris aquilina, Onoclea sensibilis, Polypodium 

 vulgare, Woodsia obtusa), grasses (Cinna arundinacea, Leersia virginica, 

 L. oryzoides, Bromus purgans, B. ciliatus, Muhlenbergia sylvatica, M. 

 Mexicana, Poa pratensis, Andropogon scoparius, A. furcatus, Elymus vir- 

 ginicus, E. canadensis), oaks (Quercus ellipsoidalis, Q. alba, Q. acuminata. 

 Q. velutina, Q. rubra, Q. macrocarpa), hickories (Carya ovata, C. cordi- 

 formis), walnut and butternut (Juglans cinera, J. nigra), maples (Acer 

 nigrum, A. saccharum, A. saccharium, A. negundo), ninebark (Physocarpus 

 opulifolius), cherries (Prunus americana P. serotina, P. serotina, P. vir- 

 giniana, P. pennsylvanica), service berry (Amelanchier canadensis), crab 

 and haws (Pyrus lowensis, Crataegus mollis, C. punctata), dogwoods 

 (Cornus asperifolia, C. alternifolia, C. circinate, C. amomum), sumach 

 (Rhus glabra, R. hirta, R. toxicodendron), honeysuckles (Lonioera glauca, 

 L. Sullivantii, Dierville trifida), buckthorn (Rhamus lanceolata) basswood 

 (Tilia americana), poplars and aspen (Populus deltoidea, P. grandidentata, 

 P. tremuloides), ashes (Fraxinus lanceolata, F. nigra), red cedar (Juni- 

 perus virginiana), yew (Taxus canadensis), wild grape and Virginia creep- 

 er (Vitis vulpina, Ampelopsis quinquefolia), moon seed (Menispermum 

 canadense), hazel (Carylus americana), red raspberry, black cap rasp- 

 berry (Rubus strigosus, R. occidentale), Spring beauty (Claytonia vir- 

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