Climbing Plants and Plant Migrations 97 



and it shall be to the Lord for a name, for an everlasting sign 

 that shall not be cut off." 



Along the coast the sands are ever shifting and piling 

 up new dunes. The native plants do their share in staying 

 the sands; the succulent Qx^&^m<g Mesembryanthemuvi {Tgau- 

 kum and Paarde Vigen), and Myrica, with its spreading 

 trunk half hidden in the sand, all help to render the sands 

 more stable. The " Port Jackson Willow," from Australia, is 

 admirably adapted to aid in this work. Besides spreading by 



Fig. 100. — Myrica cordifolia (photograph by Dr. Marloth). 



the countless seeds which it produces, the plant spreads by 

 tough suckers, that run underground in all directions, forming 

 a firm foundation upon which their humus or decaying leaves 

 mingle with the verdureless sand. Moreover, these plants 

 belong to the great group of leguminous plants, the nitrogen 

 gatherers. Their innumerable roots are claiming quantities of 

 the precious nitrogen of the air, and are giving wealth to the 

 soil as fast as it is being removed from the Kimberley and 

 Johannesburgh mines. 



H 



