THE BrUpl sua ON eb e iy Cell iN 23 
Resthetic value 
According to Dr. Betz, there are about 70 to 80 rare prairie plant species 
erowing in Peacock Prairie, among them the beautiful prairie (or downy) 
gentian, which has a purple bud and a brilliant blue, bell-shaped flower. 
Dandelions and other weeds may ring this prairie, but they have never been 
able to penetrate it, tough as they are. Even now the compass plants, rattle- 
snake masters, and broad-leafed prairie docks stand tall and striking against 
the winter snows. In this writing I shall try to share what my untrained eye 
has seen since last spring. There are the eye-catching white indigo, the bril- 
liant purple of the prairie clover, the tall, pink-purple spires of liatris, 
mingled with many shades of yellow prairie composites and the shades of 
purple and blue asters and gentians. Every week this prairie assumes a new 
garb during the growing season. 
In 1950, Dr. Albert W. Herre wrote: “‘One of the most marvelous sights 
of my whole life, unsurpassed in my travels in nearly all parts. of the world, 
was that of the Illinois prairie in the spring. Unfading are my memories of 
that waning, rippling sea of wild Sweet William. It stretched away in the dis- 
tance farther than the eye could reach. And as the sea of phlox faded, it was 
succeeded by another marvelous flower bed of nature’s planting, and instead 
of a single mass of color there was a vast garden of purple cone flowers, 
black-eyed susans, rosinweeds, blazing stars, asters, goldenrods, and others. — 
What a pity that some of it could not have been preserved, so that those born 
later might enjoy its beauty also! Now it is merely flat, unending corn fields, 
and moderns may read these words as the childish romance of an old man.” 
Educational value 
Throughout the years, students of the natural sciences of Northwestern Uni- 
versity, Kendall College and other institutions of higher learning have used 
Peacock Prairie as an outdoor classroom. The school district boards of both 
Maine East Elementary School District #63 and Maine East High School 
District have indicated great interest in the use of Peacock Prairie, as have 
other surrounding school boards. Children enjoy this space for a chance to 
get acquainted with the out-of-doors. 
Why has the prairie not yet been saved? 
In the past, people have been oriented toward saving trees, forests, log cabins, 
old books, paintings. It is true we have other virgin prairies preserved for 
posterity —- the sandy prairies, the hill prairies. But these support different 
plant communities. The black-soil virgin prairies, one so characteristic of IIli- 
nois, are now rare because farms, homes and factories are attracted to these 
flat areas. 
The Illinois Chapter of Nature Conservancy a few years ago looked into 
the possibility of obtaining this property; but the owner, Mr. Arthur T. 
McIntosh, Jr., of the Arthur T. McIntosh and Company real estate firm, re- 
fused to sell, saying he wished only to rent. That was out of the question for 
Nature Conservancy, and so the project was filed away as a lost cause. 
