Nortu Haven Sanp Ptains 575 
might be expected to grow here, were a lack of soil fertility the 
only handicap. What seems to be a more important factor is the 
almost total absence of humus or organic matter. Whitford re- 
cords the existence of similar conditions on the sand beaches of 
northern Michigan,* and observes that such a soil is favorable for 
the development of creeping stems and rhizomes. 
Though the sand appears to be dry at the surface I have always 
found plenty of moisture a few inches below the surface, even in a 
protracted drought. The explanation may be found, perhaps, in 
the low altitude of the region and its proximity to tide-water. The 
North Haven tract is only about forty feet above tide-water and 
less than three miles from it, as the tide sets back quite a distance 
from the mouth of the Quinnipiac River. The Montowese tract is 
less than twenty feet above the tide-water, which reaches to its 
very edge. The mechanical condition of the soil enables the mois- 
ture to rise quite rapidly to the surface, from a considerable depth, 
through capillarity. 
In order to obtain water for the forage experiments just men- 
tioned a well was driven fifteen feet deep, and the pipe contained 
water to the height of four feet from the bottom. The well was 
upon ground higher than the barren area. A considerable ex- 
cavation has been made beside the railroad a short distance north 
of the North Haven tract and water stands in this excavation 
€xcept in a very dry time. 
Evaporation must be very great from such a soil and the con- 
tinual drying up of the surface together with the intense heat on 
sunny days is probably the excuse for the scanty vegetation of the 
region. Thousands of seedlings must perish each season by dry- 
ing up before the roots gain a sufficient depth to provide the 
Necessary moisture. In several cases heavy wagons had crossed 
the sand and the sunken tracks were filled with young seedlings 
of Trichostema dichotomum. These seedlings had grown so much 
larger and closer together than those outside the tracks, that they 
could be seen for some distance as green lines or ribbons stretched 
across the plains. The sand was here compressed two or three 
inches below the surrounding level and the germinating seeds found 
* Whitford, H. N. Genetic development of the forests of northern Michigan; a 
study in physiographic ecology. Bot. Gaz. 31 : 289-325, /- 1-18. 1901. (Page 298.) 
