180 IOWA. ACADEMY OF SCIENCES. 



In central and western Iowa we find the red oak fre- 

 quently displacing the scarlet oak. The white oak is fre- 

 quent, along with the bur oak, w4iich is stately or shrubby, 

 according to location. Occasionally a few chestnut oaks 

 occur along the bluffs in central Iowa. In central Iowa is 

 also found the Texan red oak {Q. texana Buckley), an 

 unusual find. It will be seen that central and western 

 Iowa have few species as compared with the eastern and 

 southern portions. Forests are more extensive in the 

 eastern portion. The larger rivers of the state are all 

 eastern, and the Father of waters is our eastern border. 

 The forest primeval established itself in a narrow strip 

 along our eastern border, sending out branches of tenuous 

 width up the tributaries. The forests of central and west- 

 ern Iowa are meager because they had to be established in 

 a fire-swept zone and had not reached their fullness ere the 

 advent of civilized man. The problem of forest condi- 

 tions, especially near the rivers, having been solved in the 

 eastern portion, there was opportunity for the increase of 

 species. But the hardy ones were established first, and 

 others followed. The forests of central and western Iowa 

 had made their beginning. The sturdy species had stood 

 the test on favorable ground, and others were following, 

 but the advent of man changed conditions. He made the 

 the prairie a farm and converted the young forests into 

 heat and building materials. 



Passing backward in time for a space of fifty years we 

 find the state but thinly settled and nearly all its inhab- 

 itants on the eastern side. There were many oak forests 

 with fine, large oaks. The settler chose the best of con- 

 venient size to build his home. The sawanill on being 

 brought and conveniently located was energetically 

 employed in producing building materials to be used in 

 the rising villages or on the farms. Thousands of trees 

 were made into rails to be used in the old-fashioned worm 

 fences. The advent of the railways caused an increase in 

 the demand for oak timber for many years. The timber 

 was rapidly disappearing and many citizens felt apprehen- 

 sive. But as time goes on conditions change. The uni- 



