130 PHYSICAL GEOGKAPHY. 



especially when applied to the growth of forest trees, it 

 becomes one of nnnsnal practical importance to every citizen 

 of Iowa. The great importance which attaches to this part of 

 the subject is apparent from the fact that the wood of forest 

 trees for fuel, no less than for other purposes, is an indispen- 

 sable element in the prosperity, and even the inhabitation of 

 any country; not to mention the beneficial effects of forests 

 upon the climate, the beautifying and adornment of its land- 

 scapes, and the shading and sheltering of its homes. 



When the State was first settled, preference was always 

 given to those parts where woodland and prairies joined. 

 The open prairie was always avoided by the early settlers, 

 among whom the belief was general that those portions 

 of the State could never be occupied for want of timber. 

 Time has proved the groundlesness of those views; but even 

 now there is not woodland enough in Iowa to meet the neces- 

 sities of a population that its fertile soil is capable of 

 supporting in the greatest plenty. 



It is a matter of regret that so distinguished a man as 

 Prof. Whitney, and one whose accuracy of observation is 

 usually beyond question, should have entertained and pub- 

 lished views so erroneous in relation to the growth of forest 

 trees in Iowa, as he did in the former geological report,* 

 where he expressed the opinion that " the nature of the soil is 

 the prime cause of the absence of trees upon the prairies." 

 If the Professor could now revisit those regions he had 

 examined at the time he wrote those views, we are confident 

 he would at once retract them. Duty to the State demands 

 that we should deny the correctness of those views in the 

 most positive manner, and it is for this cause alone that this 

 personal reference is made. If there is really an unfitness of 

 prairie soil for the growth of forest trees, then at least one- 

 third of our State is worthless indeed. But this is not the 

 case, for personal observation in all parts of the State, 

 extending through a period of thirty years, has established a 



*See Geology of Iowa, 1858, Vol. I. part I., page 24, et seq. - 



