THE NORTHWEST. 41 



encouvaoing- results obtained. The drifting- sands along the Cohinibia, 

 from The Dalles eastward, are a source of great trouble and expense to 

 the railroad company as well as to people occupying- the land along the 

 river. The great amount of sand present and the rapidity with which 

 it shifts frequently causes much dehi}' to the railroad traffic, and neces- 

 sitates considerable expense in keeping the track clear. At some points 

 the sand:^ have encroached upon the cultivated lands, in some instances 

 completel}' bur3dng orchards and other tracts of valuable land (PI. 

 XVll, fig'.l). We are told by those familiar with the conditions during 

 the early settlement of the country that there was ver}'' little sand 

 along the river, and that it caused little or no damage, T)ut that within 

 recent years the amount of sand l)rought down ])v the river has 

 accumidated in greater and greater quantities eacli 3'ear. This large 

 increase in the deposit of sand is no doubt in great part traceable to 

 the deforesting of large areas about the head waters of the Colum])ia 

 River and its branches, and also to the destruction of much of the plant 

 covering of the hills and mountains by overstocking, thus giving an 

 opportunity for the rainfall to run off rapidly, causing great erosion 

 and canying large quantities of soil and sand down the streams. 

 Large amounts of sediment are also the product of the mining indus- 

 tries carried on at various points along the Columl)ia and its tribu- 

 taries. The lack of a proper covering of the soil which will retain 

 moisture derived from the rainfall and melting* snows is also in large 

 part a cause of the excessive floods which have occurred during recent 

 years. 



The onh" publication devoted entirely to the results of work done in 

 this region is circular No. 22, by Professor Scribner, on "Grass and 

 Forage Plant Investigations on the Pacific Coast,"" in which an outline 

 of the conditions and problems presenting themselves in the region is 

 given, and an account of the experiments carried on at North Yakima 

 and Walla Walla, with especial reference to the native and introduced 

 species which were tried and the degree of success attained. A lis 

 was also given of grasses and clovers valuable in the upper Pacific 

 coast region. Besides the large quantities of seed which have been 

 secured, especially of bunch wheat-grass and the wild ryes {Elynius can- 

 adensis and Elyinus condensatus)^ a number of new species of grasses 

 have been collected. Elijmus arenicolus^ Ely inns jlavescens^ 2lX\^ Poa 

 Ird'enhyi are new species of important sand-binding grasses wOiich 

 have l)een found along the Columbia River, and will probabh^ prove 

 of value for introduction into other localities. 



In the mountains south of WalloAva Lake, Oregon, we had an oppor- 

 tunity to observe sheep grazing (PI. XVIII, fig. 1). The effect of the 

 grazing here is apparently not injurious to the timber lands, and where 

 we had opportunity to examine we saw no evidence that it was ovei-grazed 

 to any appreciable extent. The sheep feed here largely upon the vari- 



