80 BIG SPRING PRAIRIE. 



The area just south of the new road, No. 1, marked 

 W. B. {wooded bay) was formerly a bay of the old lake. 

 The silt carried down from one of the drainage valleys 

 gradually helped to fill this up. In time, it passed 

 through successive stages until it became eventually 

 well wooded. The woods was cleared off, and the area 

 was brought under cultivation. At a depth of 10 or 12 

 inches there is a flaky sort of soil, which burns with a 

 bright blaze similar to cannel coal The extent of this 

 deposit was not ascertained, but most probably is quite 

 limited in thickness and extent. The texture of this 

 soil is n:uch firmer than the muck on other portions of 

 prairie, and loses less in weight and volume on drying 

 than the muck from other portions of prairie. The loss 

 in burning is considerable, but was not tested 

 quantitatively. 



The northeast corner of woods K of map II, was 

 formerly a small bay into which one of the drainage 

 valleys emptied. After it became filled up with silt 

 and plant remains, a marsh condition arose; and such 

 plants as Iris and Spathyema made their appearance. 

 These plants still survive in the woods in spite of the 

 rather thorough drainage. In this bay there was a 

 gradual slope of the clay bank to the northeast; and 

 after first ditch was dug, seedling elms and ash sprang 

 up in the muck soil, as now there was moving water in 

 the soil instead of stagnant water. The roots extended 

 through the muck and into the clay sub-soil. As the 

 soil settled after drainge, the roots became considerably 

 exposed as represented in figure 2 and 3. After the 

 settling of the soil, some of the trees were blown down 

 as the roots did not furnish sufficient support to resist 

 wind action. Many of the trees are leaning more or 

 less and as some of the exposed roots are gradually de- 

 caying, many more will succumb in the near future, 

 and a forest suited to the new conditions will gradually 

 supplant it if left in a state of nature. 



