April 20, 1892.] 



Garden and Forest. 



191 



manent than a fixation by means of a plant-cover, the 

 root-system of which penetrating in all directions will bind 

 the sand as no mechanical appliance can. 



To establish a plant-cover, however, it maybe necessary 

 to quiet the sand first temporarily, and to some extent arti- 

 ficially, before the planting is begun. The necessity for 

 this and the means and methods will differ according to 

 local conditions. 



When dealing with sand-dunes at the seashore it is 

 necessary to first cut off to some extent the supply of sand 

 constantly brought from the sea. This is done by raising 

 the shore or front with a tolerably steep grade, which, 

 while having slope enough not to be endangered by un- 

 derwashing, forces the waves to carry back the sand they 

 bring up. This is most simply done by establishing an 

 artificial front or forward dune. This forward dune is 

 formed by running two parallel fences along the shore, 

 made of brushwood hedge fashion, six feet apart, and so 

 high that the top of each may be, say, eight to ten feet 

 above average water-level. These hedges are braced up 

 if necessary by post and rail, and are expected during the 

 summer to catch the shifting sand between, in front and 

 rear, and thus to form the forward dune. 



Should this dune not be high enough to keep off the sea 

 winds and their effects upon the sand masses beyond, 

 especially if these are extensive, a second dune, the so- 

 called "high dune," established in a similar manner, only 

 higher and parallel with and behind the first, becomes 

 necessary. To make the dune effective against the sand 

 which is constantly added to it Sand-grasses are planted, 

 which, as the sand covers them, grow through it to the 

 surface, and keep the dune permanently in proper condi- 

 ■ tion. The best grass for the purpose has been found to be 

 Ammophila arenaria, which is easily and successfully 

 transplanted. This'grass is native along the Atlantic coast 

 and the lakes, as well as in Europe. It has been used, I 

 understand, to bind the sand of the Golden Gate Park, San 

 Francisco. 



When the shifting sand has been quieted, reforestation 

 can be resorted to to keep it permanently and securely in 

 place. For this purpose the Pine tribe furnishes, probably, 

 most desirable material, although other kinds will grow 

 where a fresh subsoil is present, especially Poplars and 

 Cottonwoods, and some Willows, which are most easily 

 propagated by cuttings. The choice of material might be 

 indicated by the surrounding flora. Brush Willows and 

 any other low shrubs have been found objectionable be- 

 cause they induce the formation of hillocks around them. 



Above all, the dune must be constantly watched, and 

 any small damage repaired at once, since small defects are 

 very rapidly enlarged, and prompt action can prevent this. 



Forestry Division, Washington. ^' -^" t€f7lOW. 



Recent Publications. 



The study of Leaves. By Mary B. Dennis. D. Appleton &Co. 



This little handbook is not an exhaustive treatise in which 

 everything that is known about leaves is set forth in due order, 

 but it is intended simply to help and encourage the acquiring 

 of habits of observation by the young — that is, it does not at- 

 tempt to tell children what other people have discovered, but 

 it directs their attention to the proper way of finding out things 

 for themselves. Very little, therefore, is said in the book 

 about the physiological functions of leaves or their chemical 

 constitution, as the primary purpose in view is to direct chil- 

 dren how to look at leaves so as to describe and identify them. 

 To this end there aresomething like a hundred blank schedules 

 for leaf-analysis. The child is instructed that it is not neces- 

 sary to know the name of a plant before its leaf can be ana- 

 lyzed, but that the first thing to do is to become familiar with 

 its appearance. The first title in the schedule is "Arrange- 

 ment." In one of the few preliminary pages it has been ex- 

 plained what the terms opposite, alternate, radical, whorl and 

 fascicled mean, and there are excellent outline sketches to il- 

 lustrate the explanations. What the child has to do then is to 

 examine the leaf and write in the schedule the proper descrip- 

 tive term for its arrangement. The leaf is studied in the same 



way with reference to all the various items in the schedule, 

 such as its venation, margin, surface and the rest, and when 

 this has been done and the results recorded the student must 

 have obtained a pretty distinct idea of the external appearance 

 of the specimen. Besides this there are some short directions 

 for i^ressing leaves, for drawing them, for painting them, and 

 printing them and skeletonizing them. Altogether the little 

 book can be thoroughly commended to parents and teachers, 

 and the child who begins the study of leaves in accordance 

 with these directions, and pursues it with ordinary diligence 

 during the coming season, will have acquired not only some 

 knowledge, but what is much better, the habit of getting 

 knowledge which will be retained tlirough life. 



The Plant World; its Past, Present and Future : An Intro- 

 duction to the Study of Botany. By George Massee. New 

 York, Macmillan & Co. 



The author of this little book is the lecturer on botany to 

 the London Society for the Extension of University Teaching, 

 and it is another of the numerous attempts to furnish instruc- 

 tion to everybody in all branches of science. It contains seven 

 chapters, the first of which is entitled Plant Architecture, and 

 attempts to give the various uses of the different organs of 

 plants, the modifications of these organs caused by external 

 agencies and their microscopic structure. Then follows a 

 chapter on the chemistry and physics of plant-life, and another 

 on the arrangements for protecting various plants against cli- 

 mate, living enemies and waste of energy in the struggle for 

 existence. A treatise on the reproduction of plants follows 

 this, and then comes a chapter on the relationships of plants, 

 which includes a discussion of the leading problems in sys- 

 tematic botany. The last chapters are devoted to history and 

 geography, in which the distribufion of plants and their evolu- 

 tion from the vegetation of early geological periods is discussed. 

 All this is comprised within two hundred brief pages, and 

 while the facts are clearly stated the book can hardly be con- 

 sidered as an effective introduction to botanical study. The 

 proper introduction to botany is the study of plants, and while 

 the facts which are here collected are very useful as references 

 to persons who have some acquaintance with the science, this 

 is not the kind of a work to put in the hands of beginners 

 either as an aid or an encouragement to botanical study. The 

 information given is such as persons of ordinary education 

 might wish to possess, and persons who have some rudimen- 

 tary knowledge of botany will find much enjoyment and profit 

 in the book. It is not sufficiently complete for the specialist, 

 on the one hand, though it may suggest to him at different 

 points some interesting line for research, nor is it a book for 

 beginners, at least not a book for young beginners. It be- 

 longs to a class of books, however, which is multiplying 

 very rapidly in these days, when the work of popularizing 

 science is considered so praiseworthy. If this phrase means 

 the explanation in popular language so far as this is possible 

 of the more important truths and principles which men of 

 science have discovered, the object is certainly commendable. 

 So far, however, as their leading purpose is to enable the 

 student to obtain a knowledge of some science without per- 

 sonal study and investigation, they must always prove dis- 

 appoinfing. 



Notes. 



Professor Halsted has sent out his check-list of American 

 weeds, amounting to 751 species and varieties, without includ- 

 ing those in sub-tropical Florida. There is a special list of one 

 hundred of the worst or most annoying species. 



The manual issued by the B. A. Elliott Co., of Pittsburgh, 

 and entitled A Few Flowers Worthy of General Culture, is con- 

 siderably more than a price-catalogue. It is beautifully 

 printed, and some of the illustrations are unusually soft and 

 delicate. 



For hanging baskets the drooping Maiden Hair Ferns are not 

 used as freely as they might be. Of these Adiantum dolabri- 

 forme and A. ciliatum are especially adapted to basket culture 

 by their habit. The second one will endure a much cooler 

 temperature than the first, and is very distinct and elegant in 

 appearance. 



It is reported from Chicago that material for the horticul- 

 tural display at the Columbian Exposition is beginning to arrive 

 in large quantities from abroad. As an example it is stated 

 that H. Cannell & Son, of Swanley, England, have sent one 

 hundred varieties of herbaceous Pseonies and a large number 

 of perennial Phloxes. 



