20 THE VEGETATION OF SHACKLEP'ORD BANK 



The entire strip involved in sucli an experiment as tliat suggested is 

 about three miles long. The cost of building the brush fence cannot 

 be stated with certainty, but would be in the neighborhood of $500, 

 while planting the sea oats would cost perhaps $200 more.^ The ulti- 

 mate success of the operations would depend very largely on having a 

 competent man to inspect the barrier dune occasionally, say once a 

 month, and repair breaks by means of sand fences. 



The prohibitive cost of the reclamation operations suggested by Bond^ 

 is estimated from his study of the conditions obtaining at Hatteras. The 

 actual cost of reclamation work on Shackleford would be less than esti- 

 mated by Bond, for the following reasons: (1) The fence need not be 

 of board, since experience in other localities proves that sand is held 

 sufficiently well by a rough fence or hedge built of untrimmed branches 

 driven into the sand. (2) The sand ridge need not be built up to the 

 height of 30 feet, as recommended by Bond. After the ridge has been 

 raised 6 feet or so from the level of the beach, sea oats should be planted. 

 This species, by its natural growth, would build up the ridge to the 

 desired height. 



These two matters are mentioned to show that the estimates of Bond 

 were made without suffik;ient regard to the local conditions. His recom- 

 mendations are taken from Hitchcock's paper (1. c.) on Controlling and 

 Reclaiming Sand Dunes, which is based on a study of the methods used 

 in the "JSTetherlands, Denmark, Germany, and France" (p. 5). These 

 methods, to be successful on our coasts, must be adapted to local condi- 

 tions, and a study of these conditions must precede successful reclama- 

 tion work. The results of such a study I have endeavored to include in 

 the present account. 



SAND AND SOIL BINDING PLANTS AND THEIR ACTIONS 



The character of the soil around Beaufort is such that physiographic 

 agencies act rapidly. The sandy shoals in the sound, and therefore the 

 channels, are constantly being shifted by tidal currents. The sands of 

 the "banks" are extremely unstable, and are continually being moved 

 about by the wind. There are certain natural agencies, however, which 

 tend to check this extensive movement of the soil, and which must be 

 the basis of any permanent fixation of the land. These are the work 

 of sand and soil binding plants, somewhat similar to but not identical 

 with the plants of the same function in other parts of the Avorld.-" 



A brief account of these plants and their action will be given here. 



^These estimates were made in 1E09, and must be modified on account of the great increase in the 

 cost of labor. 



^Biennial Report of the State Gaologist, N. C Geological and Economic Survey, pp. 42-48, 

 Raleigh, 1908. 



sSee Hitchcock, 1. c. 



