f34 PROTECTION AGAINST SHIFTING SAND. 



pine seed. In the Osnaburg heath, about twelve waggon-loads, 

 with two horses, of heather per acre, are required, and the cost 

 is 1 12s. per acre. Sowings thus carried out will generally 

 prove successful if the spring be moderately wet. 



Sods are always laid with the earthy side downwards, and 

 should be firmly pressed down. 



The diagrams on the previous page show how the sods may be 

 arranged. Where a sod is laid in the middle of each patch, it 

 should be larger than the others, and that form of sodding is 

 preferable, as the loose sand within the patches cannot get out. 

 The lines of sods should be at right angles to the direction of 

 the prevailing wind. The work of sodding should be done 

 during autumn, after the sand has been well soaked by rain, or 

 in the spring, and the ground should be at once sown or planted. 



In Germany, partial sodding of the ground costs from 1 to .3 

 an acre, with daily labour at Is. 1CW. Covering with branches 

 takes about forty or fifty cartloads per acre, and costs somewhat 

 less than sodding. 



4. Stocking the Area. 



Fixing the sand should be followed by stocking the area, 

 unless the two operations have been done simultaneously, or 

 the stocking precede the covering, as is the case wj^en branches 

 or heather are used. 



The most suitable species are Scots or mountain pines. 

 These species are very hardy, and yield plenty of humus. 

 The mountain pine, owing to its creeping habit, covers the 

 ground admirably. Among exotics in West Prussia, Pimm 

 rigida, Mill., and P. Banksiana, LL, either pure or mixed 

 with Weymouth pine, have given excellent results. 



Of broadleaved trees, the robinia, owing to its faculty of 

 producing suckers rapidly, fixes the sand, and has proved 

 successful in Hungary. For damp places, poplars and willows 

 should be used, the Canadian, white and black poplars being 

 most usual. Salix arenaria, L., the Caspian willow (S. acuti- 

 folia, Willd.), S. longifoUa, Host., or S. cincrea, L., may also 

 be planted, the latter rapidly covering the soil with its creeping 

 lateral branches, and it easily grows through any sand which 

 may be blown over it. 



