^50 PROCEEDINGS OF THE ACADEMY OF [Oct.. 



Ilibi-^cus nioscheutos L. hold sway, while on the higher ground 

 along Ihe borders Baccharls halimifolia L., Rhus copallina L. and 

 Myrica cerifera L. occur. 



The importance of these slues and the corresponding channels or 

 spillways cut into the dune complex during the heavy storms of 

 winter, when bay and ocean may be said to unite, is evident upon 

 careful consideration. Barnegat Bay and many similar ones along 

 the Jersey coast are practically free from aquatic vegetation, such 

 as Zostem marina L. , Fucus ve-iieulosus L. , VaUisneria spiralis L. , 

 etc., which may contribute material to fill up the hay with vegetal 

 detritus. The water in physical constitution oscillates between two 

 extremes, salt and fresh. If the barrier between the sea and the 

 lagoon is at times closed, so that the water in the bays becomes 

 fresh, the result is that plants which are especially adapted to the 

 production of salt marshes are killed by the fresh waters, while the 

 occasional invasion of salt water during storms by way of the dune 

 hollows and stronger tides through the inlets destroys the fresh- 

 water plants, which might otherwise establish a swamp of their 

 species. By these alternations some of the largest bays have been 

 kept open, although in many places shallow in the extreme. 

 Biippia maritima L., as it grows in Barnegat Bay, seems to be the 

 only species which has succeeded in adapting itself to such fluctu- 

 ating conditions. Tt has been referred to as the character plant of 

 the shallower waters of that bay, and with the consideration of 

 the above facts its probable future role in preparing the way for 

 other adaptive hydrophytes becomes evident. 



LUDLAM AND SeVEN MiLE BeACHES. 



Strictly speaking, a beach is that part of a shore between high 

 and low water, but in New Jersey the term is applied to what are 

 really sea islands. Ludlam Beach, on which Sea Isle City is 

 located, extends from Corson's Inlet to Townsend's Inlet. Except 

 at a point below Sea Isle City, the beach is almost on a level, and 

 during a violent storm it is likely to be entirely submerged, espe- 

 cially at high tide. The dunes that exist below the town are much 

 cut up. Ammophlla arenaria (L, ) Link dominates the fore- 

 ground along the beach. The Myrica thicket exists on the dune 

 complex associated with Baccharis halimifolia L. and Rhus radi- 

 cals L. The highest dunes on Ludlam Beach, at Life Saving 



