Soil-Binders 4^ 



caught up the sand and scattered it over the adjacent 

 country, where it fell like volcanic ashes, doing equal dam- 

 age and none of the good, for it consists to a large extent 

 of fine white quartz, the most hopelessly barren sand there 

 is. 



In ancient times this district is said to have been fairly 

 well covered with oak woods, remains of which are yet to 

 be seen; why and when they were destroyed seems to 

 be unknown, but the results were disastrous, and even 

 alarming. At length, however, the happy thought came 

 to an engineer named Bremontier, in 1787, that where 

 trees had grown, trees might be induced to grow again, 

 and the attempt was made, not with oaks, for they could 

 not have borne the sand, but with the maritime pine. 

 Over and over again it was tried and failed, owing to the 

 shiftiness of the sand; but at length, by dint of immense 

 perseverance, the seed was induced to take root, and then 

 the worst of the battle was over. 



One dune after another was brought to a standstill, 

 and that which threatened to become a desert has gradu- 

 ally been converted into profitable pine-woods, with inter- 

 mediate stretches of vigorous heather and furze ten feet 

 high, and here and there a thick growth of hawthorn and 

 holly. 



We may conclude this chapter by mentioning the curi- 

 ous origin ascribed to certain patches of grass which occur 

 frequently all over the bison region of North America. 

 These patches are said to be evidently due to the bison's 

 habit of wallowing in the dust, and were, in fact, the 

 wallowing places of the herd. The repeated wallowing 

 of a number of animals created shallow hollows or depres- 

 sions which the rain converted into pools, where the water 



