84 



The fixation of sand dunes has also been begun in the United States 

 by the Harbor Commissioners of Massachusetts at Cape Cod and else- 

 where. It is a simple operation, which consists in first quieting the sand 

 by mechanical means, fences and brush, or turf cover, and by cutting off or 

 breaking the force of the wind by means of an artificially induced forward 

 dune. Then grasses and other deep-rooting and root-creeping plants are 

 used to bind the sand together, and finally tree growth can be established to 

 give permanent protection. 



On the denuded mountain slopes it is also first the mechanical quieting 

 of water and soil movement which must precede the work of the forester. 

 This work must begin at the top of the mountains, where the waters gather 

 their momentum into torrents which carry soil and debris to lower levels. 

 By fascine works, revetments and retaining walls the waters are obstructed 



By permission, Western Society of Engineers. 



in their direct descent, and the violent rush over steep slopes is changed in- 

 to gentle falls, when the pockets behind the breastworks are filled up with 

 the debris and soil. Then when the waters are directed into proper channels 

 and the soil has thus become quieted, sodding and sowing with grass re- 

 stores the meadow on the gentler slopes, while on the steeper slopes a forest 

 growth is planted and the equilibrium of nature's forces, which man had 

 disturbed to his own detriment by the reckless devastation of the mountain 

 forests, will be gradually re-established. 



These glimpses into the problems of an engineering character which 

 are presented to the forester will suffice to justify the claim that he is in 

 need of a considerable amount of engineering knowledge and gumption, 

 which is to be applied under conditions in which it is not usually practic- 

 able to employ an engineer. 



