L., and annual grasses such as foxtail, Setaria sp., form approxi- 

 mately one-half of the ground cover. 



In addition to the areas marked as meadow in Figure 4, much 

 of the grass in the well-drained parts of the west half of section 10 

 was cut for hay each summer. The grassland of sections 9 and 10 

 was burned each spring in March. No other burning occurred. 



The only trees in section 11 and in the north half of section 14, 

 other than an abandoned farm grove and a plum thicket in the 

 northwest quarter of section 11, are six mulberry, Morus rubra L., 

 three small white elm, Ulmus americana L., and one cottonwood, 

 Populus deltoides Marsh. A hedgerow of Osage orange, Madura 

 pomifera Raf., and other hardwoods and cedar, Juniperus virginiana 

 L., extends along the west side of the road between sections 10 and 

 11, and along the north side of the field designated as F-2. There 

 is another hedge of Osage orange along the west side of the pasture 

 in the northwest quarter of section 15. Other woody growth in the 

 western part of the area consists of widely scattered mulberry trees, 

 cottonwoods and elms, and shrubs along the waterways. These 

 shrubs are predominantly false indigo, Amorpha fruticosa L., and 

 buttonbush, Cephalanthus occidentalis L. 



Sources of water were plentiful, because rainfall was normal or 

 above normal each summer, and pools of water occurred at fre- 

 quent intervals in all waterways. 



Cultivated crops in 1949, 1950 and 1951 were sorghums of dif- 

 ferent varieties, corn, wheat, oats, soybeans and alfalfa. White 

 clover and Korean lespedeza occurred in the pastures. Each cul- 

 tivated area was subdivided, and crops were rotated within each 

 such area. As a result the same feed crops were available in each 

 area used by the prairie chickens for feeding each year. The north- 

 west quarter of section 15 changed ownership in 1949, and has been 

 more intensively farmed since that year. Terraces were built in 

 the large cultivated area of this quarter in the fall of 1950. 



Approximately 22 per cent of the area of study was in cultivation, 

 77 per cent in grassland and the remainder of the area in farmyards. 



Daily Routine of One Flock 



The flock (hereinafter referred to as Flock A), resident in the 

 western part of the Welda Area, was observed periodically through- 

 out the period of study, November 8, 1949 to May 1, 1952. Obser- 

 vations were made from a blind and from an automobile at boom- 

 ing grounds and feeding places with the aid of 7 X 50 binoculars 

 or a 20 power telescope. Records were kept of all observed flock- 

 movements. Color banding of birds trapped and released, and 



[19] 



