22 BIG SPRING PRAIRIE. 



Illinois, the sod, consisting of tangled sedges and 

 grasses of the preceding year, and of the growing 

 sedges and grasses, oflfered such a firm support that the 

 marsh could be safely crossed by horses without the 

 danger of miring, but at each step of the horses feet the 

 ground would quiver for many rods in either direction. 

 After the sedges and grasses were mown for hay by 

 the settlers they would set fire to the dried sedges and 

 grasses in the Autumn, in order that the areas might 

 be more suitable for mowing the next year. This led 

 to a curious but natural result. Whereas before these 

 prairie fires cattle and horses could graze over this area 

 without miring; after a repetition of these Autumn fires, 

 the burned areas became so soft and treacherous, that 

 cattle and horses frequently mired in them. 



Naturally the burning of the dead sedges and 

 grasses prevented the formation of the dense carpet of 

 tangled vegetable remains, and thus the upper crust 

 being broken in places, the area became a true morass. 

 This condition continued until ditches were dug and 

 the land, for the time being, became fairly well drained. 

 Besides the sedges and grasses the most common plants 

 were 



Typha latifolia— (Cattails); 



Phragmites phragmites — (Reeds); 



Eupatorium perfoliatum — (Boneset); 



Aster (several species) — (Wild asters); 



Potentilla fruticosa — (Shrubby Cinquefoil); 



Betula pumila — (Low Birch); 



Rhus vernix — (Poison Sumac, or Poison Elder.); 



Helianthus (several species) — (Wild Sunflowers); 

 ( Riddellii \ 



Solidago< and V Probably — (Goldenrods) 

 iOhioensisj 



Some less common plants were 



Eacinaria spicata — (Blazing Star, or Gay Feather); 



Parnassia Caroliniana— (Grass of Parnassus); 



