You guys are forgetting about the Great Plains, the breadbasket of the USA.
Stretching west from Chicago to the Rocky Mountains was a sea of grasslands. Northern Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, Kansas, Nebraska, the Dakotas and parts of the states of Wisconsin, Missouri, and Colorado were never trees. The grass plants were so thick that the land defied farming. A special steel plow had to be invented to till the soil for the first farms. They called the farmers 'Sod Busters'. All this happened not that long ago, on a European scale. Regards, Bob S. In a message dated 8/7/03 6:19:27 PM Central Daylight Time, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: > Well.., then, our stories match pretty well. > > Ciao, > Graywolf > http://pages.prodigy.net/graywolfphoto > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "Lon Williamson" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > > > Hell, I meant the 1750's. > > Before settlement, but during exploration. > > > > I agree, though, that today any woods around > > Cincinnati is "patchy" at best. > > > > T Rittenhouse wrote: > > > I would say that was bull, Lon. Ohio has the singular claim to fame of > > > being the most evenly populated state in the US, and that was true > > > even in the mid 1800's when most of those folks were farmers. > > > Farmers cleared most of the land to grow crops, naturally. Now, in > > > the mid 1700's the squirrel story could have been said for the entire > > > Northeastern and Midwestern US (the Northwoods), of course in those > > > days Ohio was the far west. But in 1850 or so Michigan, Wisconsin, > > > and Minnesota were about the only such states that had not yet been > > > cut over, but they managed to mow them by 1900. Today there are > > > actually more trees in the eastern US than there were in the 1930's, do > > > mostly to the abandonment of small farms. Down here in the Appalachians > > > almost all the mountain tops had been burned off and made into pastures. > > > Now most of them are overgrown again. I can remember the Blue Ridge > > > Parkway as being mostly open vistas when I first traveled it with my family > > > as a kid in the early 1950's. Now all you mostly see is trees. > > > > > > However, these forests are not the same as the mature forests of 250+ > > > years ago. Most of the trees are no more than 50 years old. Up in > > > Michigan, Proud Lake State Park is supposedly the largest uncut tract > > > of Northwoods forest left in the continental US. It is only 65 acres, but > > > is interesting to visit just to get a small idea what 1/5 of North America > > > was like before we cut it down. > > > > > > Ciao, > > > Graywolf > > > http://pages.prodigy.net/graywolfphoto > > > > > > ----- Original Message ----- > > > From: "Lon Williamson" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > > > To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > > > > > >>They say that in my home state (Ohio) a squirrel could start > > >>at the center of the state and get to any state line without > > >>touching the ground in the mid 1850's. Yeah, we're closing > > >>the barn door after the horses got out and died of old age. > > >> > > >>-Lon > > >> > > >>William Robb wrote: > > >>>This is all very fine and dandy, but how do we expect to have the moral > > >>>authority to complain about what a 3rd world nation is doing if we > > >>>don't stop doing it ourselves. I always found it odd and hypocritical > > >>>that we were so vocal about Brazil chopping down it's rain forests > > >>>when we were clear cutting huge tracts of our own forests during > > >>>the 1980's. As for the coal fired plants and the like, it is possible to > > >>>burn coal almost as cleanly as natural gas. Our coal fired plants > > >>>here are proving it. > > > > > >>>Unfortunately, the technology is expensive, and you are correct, big > > >>>business tends to buy politicians off (they call it "lobbying") so > > >>>they can keep doing the nasty stuff. > > >>> > > >>>William Robb
