Who Built the Mounds? 85 



I have measured and counted the rings of many trees and 

 find that in most forest trees Lemmons' rule is equally ap- 

 plicable. 



Observation proves that forest trees acquire considerable 

 size in comparatively few years. It is a rule in forestry to 

 cut off the timber in 100 years from the planting, as it is 

 then sufficiently large for all purposes, and after the expira- 

 tion of one century the waste, decay, etc., equals the increase 

 by growth. The fine shade trees that line our streets in 

 Racine, more ':3specially in the Second ward, are a source of 

 pride and comfort to the citizens. I was one of the earliest 

 settlers in this ward. In 1846-7 an organization for the pur- 

 pose, planted trees some of which, by this time, have attained 

 somewhat remarkable size. I have recently measured some 

 of the largest. The white elms, Ulmus Americana, are from 

 six to eight feet in circumference two feet from the ground. 

 Maples from four to five feet ; black and golden willows, 

 eight feet ; poplars, Populus Candicans eight and a half to 

 nine feet. Not long since I had an opportunity of counting 

 the rings and accurately measuring one of these street elms, 

 finding the diameter two feet from the ground, inside of the 

 bark, twenty-four inches, rings forty-eight, — an average of 

 just one-fourth of an inch to a ring, giving an increase in 

 diameter each year of one-half an inch. 



Benjamin Bones, living four miles from Racine, cut down 

 in 1870, a large white elm and on splitting it discovered, four 

 inches from the centre, a blaze which included a hack evi- 

 dently made by a sharp ax. He brought me a section of the 

 tree including the blaze. There were one hundred and 

 eighty-eight rings outside of the hack, measuring twenty- 

 two and a half inches from inside of the bark to the blaze. 

 Counting back and adding two years for the growths 

 to cover the scar, we found that the period corresponded 

 with Hennepin's first voyage along the west coast of Lake 

 Michigan. A few years before this discovery Dr. Lapham 

 and I amused ourselves tracing Father Hennepin's voyage. 

 We located the spot where he halted and spent several 

 days to recuperate. He says: "At this station the natives 

 and voigeures we had with us killed plenty of stags, wild 



