I9I9] 



HARVEY— CONIFEROUS SAND DUNE 



425 



is some evidence, however, that germination actually takes place on 

 these grassy dunes. Through layering and germination the com- 

 plex slowly moves ocean ward. 



Salt marsh 



The aspect of the salt marsh is determined by Spartina glabra, 

 S. patens, and Disticblis spicata. J uncus balticus littoralis is 

 very abundant along the drier margins. Other common species are 

 Salicornia eiiropaea, Polentilla pacifica, Ranunculus Cymbalaria; 



Fig. 8. — Salt marsh from eastern margin; Piniis Strobiis stump in foreground; 

 lagoons and South Pond in background; photograph by Dr. G. E. Nichols. 



while Vaucheria and Cladophora occur in great mats on the margins 

 of pools. The most striking feature, however, is the presence of 

 numerous white pine stumps (iig. 8), remnants of a lumbering opera- 

 tion, whose distribution simulates rows parallel to the axis of the 

 spit extending from the eastern shore out into the marsh to a dis- 

 tance of several hundred feet. The roots of these stumps are well 

 exposed. It is evident that they must have germinated upon land 

 possibly a foot or more higher than this, somewhat over a century 

 ago. It is also evident that the salt marsh has encroached from the 

 west and is moving eastward. Coastal elevation or denudation 



