370 ON THE SANDS OF COUBINE 



bine " was occasioned by the bad practice of pulling bent 

 and juniper ." Having been thus set at liberty, the sand 

 moved towards the north-east, as appears from the deso- 

 lation which marks its progress. The moving cause is 

 the wind. I have had opportunities of witnessing the 

 effect of the wind on the loose sand. When the breeze 

 is moderate it carries along with it successive waves of 

 sand, each wave (if I may be allowed the expression) 

 being of a small size, and moving with greater or less 

 velocity, in proportion to the strength of the breeze, and 

 presenting a very beautiful appearance. When the wind 

 is high the heavier particles are drifted forwards, the 

 more minute are raised to a considerable height in the 

 atmosphere, occasioning no small inconvenience to the 

 spectator, who finds his ears and nostrils filled with sand. 

 The movements of the sand are still towards the north- 

 east. In the winter of 1816 a large portion of Binsness, 

 the only remaining farm on the west side of the Find- 

 horn, situated in the line of the sand's progress, was over- 

 whelmed. Since that period large accumulations of sand 

 have disappeared altogether, and rich soil, marked with 

 the plough, has been left bare, after having been buried 

 for upwards of a century. 



The very minute particles, which, as has been stated, 

 the wind raises to a considerable height, are occasionally 

 carried across the Bay of Findhorn. In the statistical 

 account of Dyke, the parish in which Coubine is situated, 

 it is said, " that, at the town of Findern, in a blowing 

 day, one may feel the sand sharply striking on his face, 

 from the west side."" This sand, of extreme fineness, is to 

 be seen in and around the town of Findhorn, and along 

 the coast much rich land is said to have been covered by 

 sand brought from the west. 



