I-. A. Nicker de Sausiure \'ot/uge en Kcos.w. 193 



explain the increasing accuuiulalion of sands on die shores of 

 Morayshire. The constant and ordinary action of the tide, 

 sun, and wind, is its true cause, and hence this accumulation 

 being susceptible of indefinite increase, it becomes a matter of 

 the first urgency to apply a remedy to it; which urgency is not 

 sufficiently felt by the people of that country. It is obvious 

 that, as they cannot hinder the sea from throwing the sand on 

 their shores, they ought simply to try to prevent the wind from 

 carrying this sand inland. Now, there is only one method of 

 eflecting this ; namely, the fixaLion of the downs. In order to 

 fix in their place these hills entirely composed of volatile grains 

 •which may be wafted by the wind, we must imitate what 

 nature does in like cases, and clothe the surface of the downs 

 exposed to the prevailing wind, with such creeping plants as 

 live in the sands, and form a network capable of retaining the 

 loose and light particles. An act of parliament has already 

 prohibited the pulling of the Arundo arenaria, (sea mat-weed), 

 •which grows on the downs, \nd serves to consolidate them. 

 But this is not enough. We must aid nature, and by repeated 

 sowing, multiply the existing plants, and add new species, such 

 as elymus arenarius, (sea lime-grass), and especially the ulex 

 Europaeus, or furze, called in Scotland, whins. A complete 

 development of the precautions to be taken in this kind of 

 culture, is to be found in the interesting memoir of M. Desmarets 

 on the downs of the departments of the Gironde and the Landes, 

 which forms a part of the dictionary of physical geography in the 

 Encyclopedic Methodique. The memoir of M. Decaudolle, on 

 the fertilization of downs, inserted in the I2th volume of the 

 Annals of French Agriculture, deserves also to be consulted. 

 This learned naturalist has occupied himself not only with the 

 problem of fixing downs ; but he has also resolved the more 

 important problem, of changing these heaps of sand into pro- 

 ductive and fertile soils. He indicates with this view the kinds 

 of plantations most suitable to sandy soils, and he enters into 

 interesting details on the precaution indispensable to success in 

 such undertakings. The shores of France on the Bay of Biscay 

 present on a greater -scale the same phenomena of advancing 

 downs as the coast of Morayshire. The same means by which 

 they have succeeded in arresting on some points of these 

 shores, the invasion of fertile fields by moving sands, the 

 change of the beds of rivers, the formation of ponds, and 

 finally, the burying of edifices, trees, and whole villages, might 

 undoubtedly be employed with success in Scotland. 



We shall conclude our analysis of this very interesting work 

 by a general view of the geological structure of Scotland. This 

 country presents four great classes of formation ; namely, 

 1st, Primitive formations; 2d, Intermediate; 3^, Secondary ; 

 4th, Alluvial. The first class occupies all the great uiountaiu 



Vol.. XIII. O 



