133 



THE ILLmOIS FAEMER. 



Mai 



of forest to the east, held this great sea of 

 moist atmosphere ■within its own bounds. 

 Could these prairies have been cultivated 

 under that state of things, it might well 

 have been called the garden of the world, 

 for its fertility could not easily be exhausted, 

 but though so invaluable to the produc- 

 tion of vegetable structures, it had within 

 itself the elements that was sure to sap the 

 foundation of animal life, and render it 

 dangerous as a residence for man. The his- 

 tory of the early settlement of the country 

 has given ample proof of this great fact. 



But what has all this to do with the plant- 

 ing of trees, enquires the reader ? Much — 

 very much, as will be seen when we come to 

 consider, 



THE EFFECT OF CULTURE OF THE SOIL 

 UPON THE CLIMATl. 



The clearing up of the great belts of 

 forest to the east and south, has had much 

 to do in changing our climate. In the first 

 place, the cutting down of the forest to the 

 east, by inducing a dryer atmosphere, opens 

 a communication to our air currents and 

 thus gives them an outlet to the east, while 

 from the south, the now open country with 

 its rapid evaporation, robs the trade winds of 

 a large share of their moisture, and the 

 south-west wind comes to us dry and cool, 

 instead of damp and warm. The culture of 

 the soil opens it to the influence of the sun 

 and the moisture is rapidly evaporated — the 

 prairie bottoms no longer contain rank grass, 

 for the large number of cattle pasturing on 

 them, hold it in check, admitting the sun 

 almost to the naked soil, and these- become 

 dry lands. The sloughs and small streams 

 have been cleared of the flood wood which 

 had darned up the water for the sun to evap- 

 erate, and now during heavy rains, these 

 small streams become like mountain torrents 

 rapidly discharge the water that finds free 

 access to them from the cultivated fields, 

 making the laree rivers overflow their banks 

 and render useless fences, farm houses, 

 stock and crops of all kinds along their 



banks. The spring and autumn rains ar® 

 thus hurried out of the country, and find 

 their way to the gulf. The surface of the 

 land being exposed to the heat of the sun, 

 its moisture is exhausted and goes east with 

 the great current of air that so constantly 

 sets In from the south, and now instead of 

 having the damp warm climate as in the 

 normal condition of the country with its 

 soft oozy soil, covered with rank vegetation 

 and redolent with ague and fever, we have 

 the dry, cool changing climate of the conti- 

 nent, with its solid soil, its invigorating air, 

 and in most respects better adapted to the 

 abode of man. What old settler in Chicago 

 who does not recollect the pontine marsH 

 that belted the city to the west, with its 

 base at Mud take, and its head among the 

 timber skirts that fringed the North Branch. 

 For long years this tract was given up to 

 the batrachions, and a few families who built 

 their huts on the dryer portion, cut the 

 course slough grass for city use, and stole 

 wood from the timber along the lake shore, 

 and thus eked out a sort of amphibious life. 

 Anon farther and farther out upon its broad 

 expanse of malaria, that the west wind 

 brought to the city, grazed the herds of the 

 drover or the cows of the citizens — a few 

 ditches for the stagnant water, and lo ! Mud 

 Lake and the pontine marsh are gone; 

 broad meadows spread over the lake, farms 

 and gardens occupy the marsh, the huts of 

 the amphibia have given place to fine man- 

 sions, and the city itself has extended its 

 solid treets for miles over the rush ponds, 

 which drained of their stagnant water and 

 exposed to the sun, make pleasant homes ; 

 and no longer does the west wind bring to 

 the oity the malaria once so much dreaded, 

 upon - the evaporation of the water of the 

 marsh that stretched west to the Des Plains, 

 and where Berry's Point sent out its head- 

 land of solid soil, to greet the mud-stained 

 emigrant and his weary team as he plodded 

 on to the Kock River country. 

 ■ We naed not adduce further proof of the 



