BIG SPRING PRAIRIK. 39 



as shown in the illustration. This settling of drained 

 marsh land is not peculiar to Big Spring Prairie, but 

 was noticed by the tillers of the Scioto Marsh. This 

 marsh was formerly wooded. After it was drained, the 

 land was cleared and cultivated. After ten to fifteen 

 years of cultivation, the stumps seemed to be growing 

 in height, and logs imbedded under the surface were 

 exposed. The amount of settling varied from one to 

 two feet. The farmers of that section ascribed the ap- 

 parent elevation of the stumps to the settling of soil 

 consequent upon cultivation. 



The first and second causes above enumerated are 

 sufficient to account for the amount of settling of the 

 soil. Mr. W. C. Johnson, former proprietor of the Wild 

 Rose Celery Farm, stated that the Creston, O., marsh 

 had settled at least ten feet, and that Mr. John Brink- 

 erhofF, the surveyor, who has frequently surveyed and 

 leveled the marsh for securing data of water level for 

 ditching, has observations to this effect on record. 

 Formerly this marsh possessed a slow natural drainage, 

 now a ditch about ten feet deep scarcely drains it. 



Under this subject, it may be of interest to give 

 graphic representations of the advance or retrogression 

 of plant societies under varying conditions. 



We shall employ Warming's three classes of Xero- 

 phytes, or drought-enduring plants; Hydrophytes, or 

 water-loving plants; and Mesophytes, or plants thriving 

 best in medium condition of moisture. The class Hal- 

 ophytes may be ignored in this connection. 



The process of the filling up of a shallow lake mar- 

 gin is quite rapid from the time the first bulrush makes 

 its appearance above the water, until the area so cov- 

 ered has been transformed into a marsh, which is cov- 

 ered with water for only portions of the year. From 

 that stage to the strictly mesophystic prairie the advance 

 becomes gradually slower and slower, as portions of 

 the vegetable remains by the alternate soaking and dry- 



