RAW MATERIALS PAPER 241 



of grass of unsuitable length for the primary purpose 

 is available as a waste product, and could be passed 

 on to the paper-mill. 



Should the question ever be seriously pursued, it 

 would be necessary to plant the dunes; for, when 

 left to nature, marram does not grow in anything 

 approaching its maximum density. The planting can 

 be put through at an inclusive cost of $ an acre, and 

 by the third year should be ready for a first cutting. 

 Two tons would be a normal yield per acre. In cut- 

 ting marram it is advisable to leave narrow belts of 

 the grass uncut (e.g. i foot wide every 12 to 15 feet) to 

 prevent the sand from being blown away from the 

 stubble. 



The question whether the utilization of sand-dunes 

 to grow pine woods may not be a more profitable 

 investment than the cultivation of marram grass will 

 have to be considered in connection with the various 

 circumstances, location, &c. , of each individual area. 

 Taking pine woods with a seventy-years' rotation, it 

 would be surprising if the total weight of timber (final 

 yield plus thinnings) exceeded the aggregate yield of 

 grass during the same period. 1 



Spartina Townsendu.- -This is a tall-growing grass, 

 which first made its appearance on the tidal flats of 

 Southampton fifty years ago, and has since spread 

 everywhere in the adjacent waters of the Hampshire 

 coast, and has also penetrated into Poole Harbour. 

 In these regions it now occupies many square miles 

 in dense continuous meadows. The circumstances of 

 its appearance and spread are so remarkable as to be 

 practically unique in the recorded history of the world's 

 vegetation. 



1 Taking 5500 cubic feet (= no tons) as the complete yield of timber per acre 

 under Scots Pine after seventy years, the average annual yield of marram grass 

 would require to be 1.57 tons. 



(C948) 17 



