EXPERIMENTS IN PLANTING SAND-HILLS. 23 



keep the carts going. The covering being finished, planting com- 

 menced with one and two years transplanted Scotch fir, and in 

 this way 80 acres of sand were reclaimed. 



Rabbits did great damage to the plants at first, and I had 

 repeatedly to beat it up ; but three years ago a trapper was put on, 

 and now every plant nibbled by rabbits has come away, and the 

 trees stand 18 inches to 2 feet apart, have good leaders, and are 

 from 18 inches to 2| feet high. 



The broom in some places is 4 to 5 feet high, and forms good 

 shelter to the plants. The hill, which before was bare, is now 

 green with vegetation. 



Bent has grown in the parts most bare of broom, and heather 

 is making its appearance, probably from seed fallen while heather 

 was used for covering the surface. The expense of this experi- 

 ment cost about £4 per acre ; but some places were covered with 

 growing bent, and required no brush covering ; all was sown with 

 broom. 



4. Binsness. 



In 1874 I had a hill to cover for Major Chad wick at Binsness. 

 The area is about 30 acres, and almost destitute of vegetation, 

 except to the south, which was partly covered with bent. There 

 was no brushwood or young trees to cover with ; but there was 

 broom, which was carted, and laid along the bottom of the hill 

 until there was enough to give a good start. Bent was then 

 pulled out by the root, and planted about 1 foot apart over all 

 the face of the sand. This was done so as to be two days ahead 

 of the other workers. Broom seed was then sown, and then 

 broom-stalks laid on, pushing the ends of the broom into the sand. 

 About 20 acres were covered with broom, and about 10 acres 

 with growing bent. The plants have grown considerably for the 

 first year, and all look fresh and healthy. The planted bent has 

 grown well through the covering of broom and carried seed this 

 year ; and next year, I have no doubt, it will be one mass of bent 

 and broom, forming excellent shelter to the young plants. The 

 broom that was sown, along with the planting of the bent, has 

 also made good progress, being from 6 to 8 inches long. 



This procedure will doubtless fix the sands, and allow the plants 

 to grow. 



From this experiment I am of opinion that planted bent is very 

 serviceable for keeping the sand from shifting without other cover 



