NOTES AND QUERIES. 59 



having a corn-like ear. Another grass that is used to bind 

 the sand and keep it still is the Klittag — i.e. Klit, meaning 

 dune, and Tag, meaning deck or roof of the dunes. These 

 grasses give a protection of about a foot, and behind this can 

 be planted the Bjergfyr or hill fir, that will grow to about 4 or 

 6 feet in height; and then behind these can be planted another 

 fir that will grow to 20 or 30 feet, and all this material, even 

 from the smaller firs, is utilised. Marvellously wild and 

 beautiful was the scene when we were lost as it were amidst 

 the sea of hills of shifting silver sand, and a strange contrast 

 to come into the cultured tract ; between the plantations in 

 the marshes were vast quantities of lovely wild flowers, 

 especially the Pyrola major, and in a thicket of young firs we 

 came upon great masses of deep blue lupins ; these are grown, 

 and buried in the soil for their chemical properties. 



" We went on to a little village where was a quaint, delightful 

 little inn, known as the Kokholm, all spotlessly clean. Here 

 we heard the wages were four kroners a day and food found — 

 i.e. 4s. 8d. per day. Compare this with the wages our farmers 

 cannot afford to pay, because of the lack of scientific knowledge 

 and organisation. Denmark can pay these wages, and cut 

 out English produce, until we educate our farm-lads scientifi- 

 cally and make agriculture and forestry the most delightful 

 and also most profitable life, and thus banish from our foolish 

 sayings, 'The dulness of country life.' " 



Col. Martin goes on to say : — 



" Personally I am most interested in forestry as affecting the 

 Western Highlands — and even more especially the Islands ; 

 and the need of forestry is most urgent in these parts to arrest 

 total depopulation. 



"The article quoted has much which is applicable to our 

 special needs, e.g. the sand dunes occur also with us in many 

 places, such as in Coll and others of the outer isles ; and the 

 Danish methods of tree-planting appear apposite both as to 

 grasses to bind the dunes and the wind shelter of scrub firs, 

 called Bjergfyr in Denmark. 



*' The scale of agricultural wages (higher than industrial ones) 

 is of course a desideratum for all rural industries, but would 

 need to be considerable in Britain to overtop the 8s. 3d. obtainable 

 in a coal mine ! 



