﻿CURRENT LITERATURE. 



BOOK REVIEWS. 



Dune work in Germany. 



In this book Gerhardt^ presents a very comprehensive account of the 

 historical development, as well as the present status, of dune control in the 

 classic dune areas along the shores of the Baltic and North seas. He has 

 been ably assisted in the geological, floristic, and sylvicultural aspects of the 

 work by Jentzsch, Abromeit, and Bock, respectively. The sources of the 

 sand, the factors at work, and the laws governing the movement and contour 

 of the dunes are considered in some detail, as are also the ecological adapta- 

 tions of the various species of dune plants. Historical records indicate that 

 as early as 1738 the problem of controlling the shifting sand had been solved 

 for certain areas ; but the development of modern methods and organized 

 work dates from about the beginning of the last century, when Biorn demon- 

 strated that a certain combination of hedges, grass-plats, etc, is effective in 

 checking the advance of a wandering dune. Krause and Hagen furthered 

 the work of Biorn, both in the extension of the areas protected and in the 

 improvement of methods. Near the town of Narmeln, situated on the 

 Frischen Nehrung, occurs an example of their work. Two rapidly advancing 

 dunes had already encroached upon the town limits when Krause began his 

 work, which was prosecuted with such success that the threatening dunes 

 were under complete control before serious damage was done, and although 

 over half a century has passed, the town has never since been seriously 

 threatened with a further advance of the dunes. 



Excellent illustrations and diagrams aid in the clear exposition of the 

 various devices with which the newly transplanted vegetation is protected, 

 and the shifting sand captured and held. Directions for culture and detailed 

 descriptions of the various grasses, shrubs, and trees recommended are given, 

 together with a statement of the steps necessary to the final forestation of the 

 wandering dune. The existing farms, with their gardens and orchards, 

 where a hundred years ago were only sand wastes, and the wooded elevations 

 that mark the site of once wandering dunes bear witness to the effectiveness 

 of the methods used in these areas. And there appears no reason why these 

 methods may not be successfully applied wherever the shifting sand endan- 

 gers valuable property. — J, M. Westgate. 



'Gerhardt, Paul, Handbuch des deutschen Dlinenbaues, pp. xxviii+656 



■fis^' 445* Berlin: Paul Parey. 1900* 

 1903] 139 



