The other trial, at Drum Inlet, covered only three planting dates, 

 but used plants from both Beaufort and Drum Inlet. Growth and survival 

 were lower and more erratic at Drum Inlet than at Beaufort (Tab. 5). 

 This differential response is believed due to the occurrence of salt 

 buildup several times during the growing season at Drum Inlet. However, 

 the relative performance of freshly dug versus heeled-in transplants in 

 the two trials was similar, which suggests that it is feasible to dig 

 and store planting stock of S. alterniflora for at least several months. 



Survival figures of heeled-in plants for the later planting dates may 

 be somewhat misleading. Some selection probably occurs as they are 

 removed from the trench. Plants that initially appeared as acceptable 

 transplants may have withered during the storage period and would be 

 rejected at this time as nonusable transplanting material. Consequently, 

 there can be some decrease in transplant numbers during storage. 



c. Sources . The growth habit and vigor of S. alterniflora varies 

 widely along the North Carolina coast. Whether this variability is genetic 

 or environmental or both is still in doubt. Thus, a question arises about 

 the range of adaptation of the transplant material as it is moved from 

 one site to another. This question was examined in several experiments. 

 The first and most comprehensive trial was started at Snow's Cut, 7 April 

 1971. This trial included plants from five locations ranging from regu- 

 lar tides to mostly wind setup and with salinities ranging from about 

 10 parts per thousand to nearly sea strength (Tabs. 1 and 6]. The 

 material from nearby, labeled "Snow's Cut," most closely resembled an 

 intermediate height form. The Beaufort tall was definitely a tall height 

 form from a tidal creek bank in the Beaufort marshes. Plants from Oregon 

 and Ocracoke Inlets were intermediate in height and were growing on sites 

 exposed to substantial wind setup. The Beaufort short came from the short 

 height zone well away from the creeks, under a regular tide regime and 

 salinities near sea strength. 



All five sources grew well the first year (Fig. 7). Some morphologi- 

 cal differences were still apparent at the end of the growing season, as 

 well as the characteristic north to south flowering sequence. In addition, 

 there were differences in aerial dry weight, height, number of flowers, 

 number of rhizome culms (an indication of the rate of spread) , and total 

 number of culms (Tab. 6). 



While growth of transplants from all five sources was satisfactory, 

 the local type, Snow's Cut, appeared to be superior. This source had 

 more aboveground production and a greater rate of spread (rhizome culms) 

 than transplants from other sources, and was intermediate in number of 

 center culms and height. The following spring (1972), new shoots popu- 

 lated the entire area of all plots so that individual hills and rows were 

 indistinguishable (discussed later in Sec. IV, Fig. 39). Vegetative 

 cover and yield increased several fold over that of the first year 

 (Tabs. 6 and 7). Some differences between transplants from different 

 sources were still distinct with Beaufort short definitely shorter than 

 the other sources, and Beaufort tall having produced fewer flowers and 



29 



