22 THE VEGETATION OF SHACKLEFOKD BANK 



including sea oats (Uniola), Myrica cerifera, and many other species 

 both shrubby and herbaceous. The action of storms, however, com- 

 bined with changes in the direction of the tidal currents, has resulted in 

 leveling this land until it is now completely covered at mean high tide. 

 The only vegetation now occurring here is a sparse growth of Spartina 

 glabra. 



Another method of island-formation in neighboring waters has been 

 described by Grave.^ 



SAND-BINDING PLANTS 



Methods for controlling and reclaiming shifting sands have been 

 well worked out in other regions, and it is known with tolerable certainty 

 just what may be expected of any species of sand-binding plants under 

 given conditions. These conditions are the same the world over. High 

 winds playing over dry sand furnish conditions for plant life that call 

 for specially modified species to withstand them. 



In controlling shifting sand, the first step is usually the formation 

 of a barrier dune which will catch and break the full force of the wind ; 

 second, the sand back of the dune must be held in place until it can be 

 forested; third, the forest must become established in the lee of the 

 barrier dune. 



Eor forming the barrier dune, beach grass {Ammophila arenaria) has 

 been almost universally used. This species is not available at Beaufort. 

 Its place is well supplied, however, by the sea oats {Uniola paniculata) , 

 which possesses all the features that make beach grass valuable in other 

 localities. Its leaves are sufficiently tough to resist the action of blasts 

 of dry sand driven at high speed. They are too flexible to be broken 

 by direct action of the wind. The root-stocks are strong, heavy, and 

 branching, and strike both vertically and obliquely into the sand, so that 

 the plant is securely anchored, and the sand firmly held. Lastly, the 

 constant movement of the sand is rather beneficial than injurious to 

 Uniola. 



That this species may be successfully used in forming a barrier dune 

 is evidenced by Bogue Bank in the neighborhood of the Hoop Pole wood. 

 Here the dune is stable, and furnishes complete protection to the forest. 



The sea oats will prove most valuable in controlling shifting sand. 

 It is not available, however, for reclaiming sandy wastes, for the reason 

 that it flourishes only where the sand is constantly moving. Where the 

 sand, sheltered by a barrier dune, is comparatively stable, other species 



'Grave, C, Investigations for the Promotion of the Oyster Industry in North Carolina; U. S. 

 Fish Commission Report, pp. 260-264. 1903. 



