HISTOEY OF HEEEFOED CATTLE 



395 



partial that they will sometimes even add two 

 or three spits rather than not show enough. 

 The sand which is carried by the north wind 

 into Mr. Price's land to-day may be removed 

 into the river by the south wind a week or two 

 after, and thus a deal of harm is done. The 

 metaled road is also covered in many places 

 with several feet of sand. The Council, Mr. 

 West-Erskine, and Mr. Price are all doing what 

 they can to prevent this undesirable state of 

 things, but it is probable that it will not be 

 stopped until the shifting sands have been cov- 

 ered with boughs and planted with grasses. 



"There are very few trees now upon the is- 

 land, but the settlers are inclined to encourage 

 their growth. The Shea oak seems to thrive 

 there, and in one place where a large tree has 

 been cut down there are a hundred or so of 

 seedlings, so that if the settlers chose to obtain 

 seeds and sow them there would be good hopes 

 of covering the place in a few years. Mr. Price 

 introduced the tobacco tree (really a species of 

 tobacco), which grows to a height of twelve to 

 eighteen feet in favorable localities. This took 

 kindly to the sand and soon every one was anx- 

 ious to use it along his boundaries as a hedge 



and breakwind; but the people did not cut it 

 back enough, and the trees grew up with long, 

 straggling branches, which broke down with the 

 winds, and now the plant is being neglected on 

 all hands. I have seen the tobacco tree made 

 into a very effective wall or breakwind, about 

 ten feet high, by continually stopping all 

 branches that break beyond bounds. The Agave 

 Americana, or 'American Aloe' or the century 

 plant, and the common Opuntia, or prickly 

 pear, have also been used with some success for 

 stopping the shifting sands. Attempts have 

 also been made with couch grass and by sowing 

 with rye grasses and other plants to fix the 

 sands, but too often before they get roots the 

 wind comes and blows seed and soil away to- 

 gether. 



"Mr. Charles Price has been an enthusiast 

 in respect to Herefords ever since his boyhood, 

 and by this time ought to be a pretty good judge 

 of what a Hereford should be. He believes that 

 he now possesses 200 beasts which will compare 

 favorably individually with anything in the 

 Australian colonies, and as a herd, with any in 

 the world, and probably he is not far out in his 

 estimate of their character. He was brought 



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PRIZE WINNING HERD OF 1885, PROPERTY OF THE IOWA HEREFORD CATTLE CO. 

 Modesty 2d, 24281. Melody 16th, 18549. Stately 2d, 18522. Forelock 17999. Washington (8152) 22615. 



