Raised Beaches near Cleveland, Ohio 
283 
These old shore lines in their development witnessed the usual 
shifting facies of plant habitats, developing societies, and in time 
families and communities, working out the usual history that ab 
ways takes place slowly under a changing environment. The 
ecology of modern shore lines under like climatic conditions must 
be very similar. Each stage of these high level lakes involved a 
great lapse of time. Some indications of this time are seen in the 
numerous swamp areas, many of which had not been eliminated 
by natural processes when the white man came into the area. 
As soon as a given level of the lake, gave way to a new and lower 
level, the deserted beach, as well as the area recently covered by 
deep water, were spread over by plants in their normal struggle. 
From the standpoint of the farmer, the plant history of this land 
is of importance. Residual rock alone does not make a fertile 
farm. He ploughs the soil which is reduced rock plus the remains 
of organisms; usually the more of this latter addition the better is 
his soil. A ridge inhospitable to plants is made artificially hos- 
pitable to crops only with the greatest of labor. 
Beach societies were never prolific, for here flora always has 
a struggle and even after the withdrawal of the water insuring a 
static condition of the beach, the plant societies multiplied very 
slowly. For this reason humus accumulated slowly. Relatively, 
then, beaches were never fertile. The sand areas always associ- 
ated with beaches, either through the development of spits, cusps, 
or deltas, have a more abundant flora, in consequence of which 
they have become richer for cultivation. The prolific plant life 
of lagoons develops an almost ideal soil. Many lagoons are found 
about the angles of embayments and between barriers and shores; 
these make rich lands. 
Another relation of these shore lines, passive but of importance 
in the development of the region, is seen in their use by the Indian 
for trails and the white man for highways. In consequence of this 
influence, the farms front the shore-ridges, and the houses, in 
general, are placed on the front-slope where quick and effective 
drainage is best assured. The shape of the older farms, longer 
or shorter as the shores converge or diverge, again shows an in- 
fluence of these successive lake levels. 
Furthermore, there is observed in the agricultural evolution of 
this region a tardy adaptation to natural conditions. The first 
farmers here were emigrants from New England and carried on 
