THE NEBRASKA SAND HILLS. 273 



treating such cases. Trees which he has fixed will not break apart, for 

 high up in the branches a strong chain is fastened from limb to limb in 

 such a way as to make a substantial brace and guard against any possi- 

 bility of splitting. But these chains are not wrapped around the limbs. 

 They are fastened to big lag screws. The screws are put into the limbs; 

 the limbs are drawn together just a little so as to give them tension, then 

 the chain is hooked over the lag screws, and the job is finished. There is 

 only the faintest chance of such a tree ever breaking down, and one which 

 has been worked over, as these Davey experts worked over these apple 

 trees of Mr. Donovan are as good as new, and really far better than they 

 would be if given the ordinary treatment in the way of repair or rejuvena- 

 tion. 



Now, the questions come, is the work expensive, and will it pay in 

 the orchard? Yes, the work is expensive. Expert workmen require good 

 salaries and careful work takes time to do, so that repair work such as 

 this costs a pretty stiff figure. But is it worth while? I shall answer that 

 by asking another question: Is an orchard of bearing age, and in good 

 health and vigor worth any more than an orchard that is just planted? 

 Is it worth while to save ten years of time? That is just what has been 

 done in this orchard. The trees which have been worked over are re- 

 stored to their former vigor, in fact it is safe to say they are stronger to- 

 day than they have ever been. They are loaded with fruit buds,- and 

 every one of them is capable of producing a couple of barrels or more of 

 apples next year. It has taken them almost twenty years to reach this 

 size, and by the repair work twenty years have been saved. Is it worth 

 while? You can answer. — Fruit Grower. 



GLIMPSES OF THE NEBRASKA SAND HILLS* 



By Raymond J. Pool, Associate Professor of Botany, University of 



Nebraska. 



Thousands of years ago when the forces of nature were at work 

 shifting and gradually shaping the features of the Great Plains, large 

 areas of sandstones were exposed in Dakota, Wyoming, Nebraska, Kan- 

 sas and other parts of the western plains. As topographic features were 

 slowly evolved, these sandstones, being young and soft, readily yielded 

 to the eroding action of the elements and were reduced to light, fine- 

 grained sand. In addition to this sand formed in situ probably consid- 

 erable amounts of other sands were washed or blown into the region 

 from farther west. Great quantities of the sand thus formed were 

 caught up by the wind and heaped into mounds that finally grew to be 

 large sand dunes extending in long ranges and ridges for many miles 

 over the sandstone beds. Thus were the Sand Hills of the prairies and 

 great plains formed in the days preceding the advent of plants or men 



* This ai-ticlo is a niodificatioii of a papr-r puhlisbofl in the Popular Soionce 

 Monthly for Mareli, l",tl2, untlor the title, "Glimpses of the 'Great Aiuerieau 

 Desert.' " 



10 



