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IOWA ACADEMY OP SCIENCE 
of land contain stands of bur oak which gradually change in 
descending the slopes to a mixture of red oak, red and white 
elm, shellbark hickory, honey locust, Kentucky coffee tree, black 
walnut, basswood and white ash. 
Mills Cou'Ylty . — Mills county borders the Missouri river and is 
in the second tier of counties from the south line of the state. 
The surface of this county is very similar to that of Fremont 
county. In general, the Missouri river bottom varies in width 
from three to seven miles. A large part of this bottom is sub- 
ject to overflow during high water. As in Fremont county, a 
border of bluffs extends across the entire county. Back from 
the bluffs is a fertile, rolling, prairie country which comprises 
about three-fourths of the area of the county. The best timber 
on both bottom land and upland has been cut. Scattered areas 
of cottonwood are still to be found between cultivated areas. 
The greater part of the timber to be found in the county is in 
the vicinity of Glenwood. The oaks, elms, basswood, hickory, 
ash and black walnut are found in abundance. The timber 
along Nishnabotna river and its tributaries consists of a mix- 
ture of soft maple, boxelder, elm, willow, ash, cottonwood and 
some black walnut. The bur oak and white ash occupy the 
higher places ; the red oak, red elm and shellbark hickory occupy 
the intermediate slopes ; and the walnut, white elm, basswood, 
cottonwood and Kentucky coffee tree are found on the bottom 
lands. The cottonwood, green ash and soft maple are the pre- 
dominating species on the bottom lands. The unrestricted graz- 
ing of live stock does a great amount of damage to the standing 
timber. 
Pottaivattamie County . — Pottawattamie county borders the 
Misouri river and is the third county north from the south line 
of, the state. The topography is quite similar to that found in 
Mills and Fremont counties. The county is well drained by a 
number of small streams. The virgin stands of oak, elm, hickory, 
ash, walnut, cottonwood and maple have been replaced by second 
growth. Practically all of the timber along the Missouri river 
bottom has been cut. In most of the ravines which cut through 
the bluffs, there are to be found fine stands of young timber 
averaging eight to ten inches in diameter. In the neighborhood 
of Avoca, the principal species in the native stands were bur oak, 
white elm, red elm and black walnut. On the East and West 
Nishnabotna rivers the following were the principal species : white 
