f 
< Of foliage, never excelled, and seldom, if ever, equalled, in the ~ 
an n additional sare’ to the groves themselves. 
THE VEGETATION OF THE LOWER WABASH VALLEY. 155 
capreolata, and several species of Smilax, which are usually absent 
here, they are of the same species; while the hop (Humulus 
lupulus), wild yam (Dioscorea villosa) and climbing rose (Rosa 
setigera), are decidedly characteristic of the dry woods. 
The ** Oak Openings” are a beautiful modification of these woods, 
and form a feature strikingly characteristic of the prairie regions of 
the Mississippi Valley ; and nowhere are they more attractive than 
in southern Tllinois. They are usually found in the region where 
the timber and prairie meet. Their most striking peculiarity is the 
symmetrical shape, uniform size and compact foliage, of the prairie 
oaks (different species, according to the locality, but usually the 
Quercus imbricaria, Q. nigra or, in damp situations, Q. palustris), 
which, almost exclusively, compose them, and especially the smooth- 
ness and fresh appearance of the clean, bright green sward beneath 
them. ‘Po do them justice, we cannot do better than quote from a 
very truthful description which we have lately read :— “ They (the 
trees) rise from a grassy turf seldom encumbered with brushwood, 
but not unfrequently broken by jungles of rich and gaudy flowering 
plants, and of dwarf sumac. Among the oak openings you find 
some of the most lovely landscapes of the West, and travel for 
miles and miles through varied park scenery of natural growth, 
with all the diversity of gently swelling hill and dale; here, trees 
grouped or standing single — and there, arranged in long avenues, 
as if laid out by human hands, with slips of open meadow between 
them. Sometimes the openings are interrupted with numerous 
clear lakes, and with this addition become enchantingly beautiful.” 
[Encyclopædia of Geography ; Thos. E. Bradford, II, 562 ; 1840.] 
To this description, we can only add that when viewed from across 
a meadow, the groves present a symmetry in the trees, a uni- 
formity in their size and shape, and a compactness and richness 
best-kept artificial park. The lower branches of all the trees begin - 
at a uniform level, and the space beneath is left perfectly free from 
brushwood or rubbish of any kind, so that under the straight li e 
marking the lower limit of the foliage, there is seen only ' the well- 
shapen trunks, rising from a beautiful sward of the freshest green. 
The trees about the border are often beautifully canopied by a 
matted covering of wild grape, while the vines of this o 
coiled or twisted into fantastic and artistic shapes, £ sometimes teid ; 
