140 Botanical Department. [Bulletin 121 



arenaria ( L. ) Link, commonly sold as Ammophila arundinacea. This 

 is a perennial grass, spreading by underground stems, growing from 

 two to four feet high, with long, coarse leaves and a narrow, spike-like 

 flowering head from five to six inches long. This grass is extensively 

 found on the sandy seacoast region of the Atlantic, as far south as 

 Virginia, and is also the common grass found covering the sand 

 dunes along the Great Lakes, notably on the eastern coast of Lake 

 Michigan. It is of no fodder value. Its seed runs in weight fifteen 

 pounds to the bushel and sells at about forty-five cents per pound, or 

 100 pounds for about $40. The seed should be sown in the spring, 

 either drilled or harrowed in, and the ground covered with brush to 

 hold the seed in place until the young plants have gained a start, 

 The usual method is to transplant already established sods, and by 

 this means large areas of dune and beach land have been planted in 

 Europe and along the eastern coast of the United States ; but inas- 

 much as Ammophila is not likely to be found accessible already estab- 

 lished, it will be necessary to start an area of young plants as above 

 indicated, for further transplanting. 



Next, perhaps, to Ammophila arenaria, among those grasses the 

 seed of which is commercially available, is Poa compressa L., the Can- 

 ada blue-grass. This is a small perennial grass, with slender, wiry, 

 flattened stems, growing from six inches to one and one-half feet 

 high, and found in waste places generally, scattered over the northern 

 tlnited States. It also propagates by underground stems, and does 

 well on the poorest soils. Unlike the Ammophila, it is a valuable 

 pasture grass, and if once well established it will prove of some worth 

 in itself, beside being, in addition, very valuable as a sand-binder. It 

 is, however, not likely that it will take hold at the outset in loose sand 

 as readily as the beach-grass. It is therefore recommended that 

 beach-grass be used first to fix the soil before the other is sown. 



The two grasses above given are the only ones which this depart- 

 ment feels absolutely justified, from observation and experience, in 

 recommending for immediate use. There are a few others among the 

 fescue grasses, such as Hard fescue (Festuca duriuscula), Sheep 

 fescue (Festuca ovina), Red fescue (Festuca rubra), and Slender 

 fescue (Festuca tenuifolia), and lime-grass (Elymus arenarius), 

 which may or may not prove valuable here, in connection with the 

 Canada blue-grass, and it is planned to use them during during the 

 coming season in an experimental way on sanded lands in this vicinity. 



In connection with the grasses, it is desirable, as soon as possible, 

 to start legume plants of species which will endure hard condi- 

 tions. The sanded lands, being notably deficient in humus at the sur- 

 face, and consequently in compounds of nitrogen, so essential as plant 



