Stout—Vegetation of a Typical Wild Hay Meadow. 407 
important factor in the natural tilling in of ponds leading to the 
development of meadow lands. 
Drude’s meadow moor is plainly the equivalent of our marsh 
meadows. If he had distinguished further the grass moor and 
sedge moor according to the prevalence of such grasses as Cala- 
magrostis canadensis he would have characterized these forma¬ 
tions quite adequately, judged from the standpoint of our Wis¬ 
consin conditions. 
The presence of this type of vegetation in Wisconsin was 
recognized by Chamberlin (5) (1877) and his co-laborers. In 
their discussion of the dor a of Eastern Wisconsin they recog¬ 
nized a “Grass and Sedge Group” occupying open meadow and 
marshes and they note that grasses predominate on marshes 
more easily improved and that sedges occupy marshes more 
difficult to improve. They find that this form of vegetation 
grades imperceptibly into the upland prairies. A sharp dis¬ 
tinction is made by them between the “Grass and Sedge Group” 
and the “Heath Group” though both occupy marsh habitats. 
The map of the vegtation of Wisconsin which accompanies their 
discussion shows that the grass and sedge marshes are confined 
to the west central portions of the state and are intermingled 
with the prairies in the belt of the greatest development of the 
oaks. To the immediate north and east the “Heath Group” 
leaches its greatest development in the marshes. In the dense 
pine and maple belt the tamarack is shown to be characteristic 
of the undrained regions while still further north this species 
is largely replaced by white cedar and spruce. 
MacMillan (9) (1892) whose work on the flora of Minne¬ 
sota stands quite alone in its comprehensiveness so far as any 
of our western states are concerned, describes the type of vege¬ 
tation with which we are concerned as a “swamp moor or wet 
meadow” formation composed mostly of “sedges, grasses, and 
rushes, but with a strong intermixture of other plants including 
such varieties as the shield ferns, marsh marigolds, the Parnas- 
sias, some gentians, buck beans, orchids, willow herbs and pars¬ 
leys.” Mingled with these are often shrubs such as dogwoods* 
willows, buckthorns and meadow sweets, and also a consider¬ 
able moss vegetation. 
