REPORT ON FORESTS. 251 



sand, out of which project the jagged trunks and limbs of 

 smothered trees. The fine sand sifts into shoes, pockets, cloth- 

 ing and hair. It comes fresh from the great ocean-mill, ascends 

 the surface of the dune, and falls over its crest into the forest. 

 When a stiff breeze is blowing it skims along like drifting snow, 

 and shoots from the summit of the dune, trimming the tops of 

 the trees as flat as though shorn with shears.* 



If these forests are what cause the dunes, by preventing 

 the west wind from blowing back the sand, how did the forests 

 form ? Single trees here and there, or groups of trees, which 

 are clean underneath, so that the west wind sweeps through 

 without serious interruption, do not cause the formation of dunes. 

 In the course of time, however, a thicket forms under these 

 trees. They become covered with grape vines, Virginia-creepers 

 and green-briars. The birds and winds scatter the seeds of 

 many sorts of shrubs and bushes, such as Prunus maritima, 

 sweet-gale, Baccharis halimifolia, etc., etc., until a dense forest 

 is formed through which the west wind cannot penetrate, the 

 consequence of which, in the course of time, is a dune, which in 

 turn finally engulfs and kills the forest that had caused it.f 



It is a mistake to suppose that this sand is sterile because it 

 appears barren. True, it consists mainly of granules of quartz, 

 but these are extremely fine, the interstices are small, and the 

 capillarity great in consequence ; mixed with it are particles of 

 shells and other materials, organic and inorganic, which are in 

 the ocean, working down the coast until washed ashore and 

 shifted with the sand. 



The forest at Avalon is so dense that many birds seek shelter 

 there. The principal trees of these beaches are the holly (Ilex 

 opacci), the red-cedar (Juniperus virginianoi), the sour or black- 

 gum (Nyssa sylvaticd], magnolia (M. glauca), wild-cherry 

 {Prunus serotina), hackberry (Celtis occidentalis), sassafras, 

 swamp-maple (Acer rubruni], and a few oaks, and pitch-pines 

 and even red-mulberry. The commonest, and by far the most 

 characteristic, trees of the beaches are the holly and red- 



* I am of the opinion that the shapes of trees along our coast is due more to the sand-blast than to the 

 direct action of the wind. This also limits the number of species. Those plants with foliage best able to 

 withstand this sand-blast are the ones which grow nearest the sea. 



t By clearing away the underbrush and trimming the trees to let the west wind through, it might be 

 possible in several places along the coast to dispel the dunes and prevent their future formation. 



