Geology 



has now been stopped by planting starr grass, or " bent," 

 upon the surface of the hills. This grass has long, 

 underground stems, or rhizomes, which are very tough, 

 and which form such a dense tangle that they hold the 

 sand together and prevent its dispersal by the wind. In 

 addition to this, the leaves of the grass, by forming a 

 dense rush-like growth, entrap the flying grains from 

 the beach. Even with this precaution it sometimes 

 happened when there was an exceptionally strong south- 

 east wind that sand accumulated like snowdrifts in the 

 streets of the town, and had to be carted away. 



The shingle beach continued westward towards the 

 estuary until it terminated in a point or hook which had 

 considerably constricted the mouth of the river. Early 

 settlers in the country state that this point has grown 

 considerably since their arrival, but that it now seems to 

 be stationary. The shingle travelling westwards under 

 the influence of storm waves and tidal currents has 

 gradually narrowed the mouth of the river, thus in- 

 creasing the speed of its current, which is now able to 

 carry any additional shingle, which may travel in this 

 direction, out to sea. It was stated that much of this 

 shingle was again flung up by the waves on the opposite 

 coast, and there certainly seemed to be an accumulation 

 of black material along the foot of the sand-dunes. It 

 was, however, too far away for us to ascertain its nature, 

 even with the field-glasses. 



Behind our lines of sand-dunes there was a flat area 

 covered with a fine silt which contained, by way of fossils, 

 a few shells of land snails and some leaves and twigs in a 

 partially decomposed condition. This appeared to be 

 a deposit of materials brought down by the river and 



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