30 RECLAMATION OF CAPE COD SAND DUNES. 



esta]>lisluMl to l)0 iil)l(' to withstand the rather .severe conditions inci- 

 dent to the dune areas. This process continues and the orass is thus 

 continualh' rejuvenated. 



Another reason for the deterioration noted a])Ove ma}^ be the fact 

 that a single set of grass is not of indefinite existence, and unless it is 

 induced to increase vegetatively it soon loses its vigor. There are areas 

 in the United States where this deterioration subsequent to the trans- 

 planting is not manifested. At Grand Haven, IVIich., at Coos Baj^, 

 Oregon, and at Poplar Branch, N. C, the beach grass has continued 

 to increase in vigor since the plantations Avere established. This is 

 apparently due to the fact that the ])lantings were made sufficiently 

 far apart to allow most of the sand to drift through the plantations, 

 thus enabling each set to receive a small amount of sand. This 

 method, however, would be applicable only to limited areas on Cape 

 Cod, as it is the eroding surfaces which reqiure protection. How- 

 ever, these instances indicate that it is possible in certain areas to 

 distribute the sand accumulation and often ])uild up areas that are 

 erodinp-, and this method should be in mind whenever a i)lan of attack 

 on the dune areas is under consideration. The great reduction in the 

 cost per acre where this thin planting can Ijc utilized is a decided point 

 in favor of its adoption wherever at all practicable. The cost of the 

 Coos Bay plantations has been only $S per acre, 64 acres having been 

 planted in a single season with an appropriation of $500. In this 

 place the grass was set -i feet apart, and rather favorable climatic and 

 edaphic conditions have been to some extent responsible for the success 

 of such thin planting. 



Trials of other sand-])inding grasses have demonstrated the superi- 

 oritj-^ of beach grass for sand-binding purposes under conditions which 

 characterize the'dune areas of Cape Cod. In 1001 experiments were 

 made with the sand sedge {Carex macrocephalu) and seaside bluegrass 

 {Poa macmntha). These are very efficient sand binders upon the Pacific 

 coast, and were obtained through the Division of Agrostology^ from 

 Clatsop beach, near Fort Stevens, Oregon. Neither the seedlings nor 

 the sets of these species proved successful. The seeds germinated 

 well, but failed to survive the winter, as was also the case with the 

 transplanted sets. 



NECESSITY OF ULTIMATE FOKESTATION. 



The marked deterioration of the beach-grass plantings shows the 

 need of introducing woody growth among the aieas at as early a date 

 as possible (PI. V, figs. 1 and 2). The vai'ious native or imported 

 woody plants should be set out among the grass soon after the grass 

 has been planted, as the first years of the protection afforded bv the 

 grass are the best and are, in the aggregate, none too long to enable 

 the shrubs and young trees to make sufficient growth and rootage 

 to be self-protecting by the time the grass deteriorates so as to be 



