REPORT ON FORESTS. 251 
sand, out of which project the jagged trunks and limbs of 
smothered trees. ‘The fine sand sifts into shoes, pockets, cloth- 
ing and hair. It comes fresh from the great ocean-mill, ascends 
the surface of the dune, and falls over its crest into the forest. 
When a stiff breeze is blowing it skims along like drifting snow, 
and shoots from the summit of the dune, trimming the tops of 
the trees as flat as though shorn with shears.* 
If these forests are what cause the dunes, by preventing 
the west wind from blowing back the sand, how did the forests 
form? Single trees here and there, or groups of trees, which 
are clean underneath, so that the west wind sweeps through 
without serious interruption, do not cause the formation of dunes. 
In the course of time, however, a thicket forms under these 
trees. ‘They become covered with grape vines, Virginia-creepers 
and green-briars. The birds and winds scatter the seeds of 
many sorts of shrubs and bushes, such as Prunus maritima, 
sweet-gale, Baccharis halimifolza, etc., etc.; until a dense forest 
is formed through which the west wind cannot penetrate, the 
‘consequence of which, in the course of time, is a dune, which in 
turn finally engulfs and kills the forest that had caused it.f 
It is a mistake to suppose that this sand is sterile because it 
appears barren. True, it consists mainly of granules of quartz, 
but these are extremely fine, the interstices are small, and the 
capillarity great in consequence; mixed with it are particles of 
shells and other materials, organic arid inorganic, which are in 
the ocean, working down the coast until washed ashore and 
shifted with the sand. 
The forest at Avalon is so dense that many birds seek shelter 
there. The principal trees of these beaches are the holly (/lex 
opaca), the red-cedar (Juniperus virginiana), the sour or black- 
gum (Nyssa sylvatica), magnolia (MZ glauca), wild-cherry 
(Prunus serotina), hackberry (Celtes occidentalis), sassafras, 
swamp-maple (Acer rubrum), and a few oaks, and pitch-pines 
and even red-mulberry. The commonest, and by far the most 
characteristic, trees of the beaches are the holly and red- 
a 
* Iam of the opinion that the shapes of trees along our coast is due more to the sand-blast than to the 
direct action of the wind. This also limits the number of species, Those plants with foliage best able to 
withstand this sand-blast are the ones which grow nearest the sea. 
+ By clearing away the underbrush and trimming the trees to let the west wind through, it might be 
possible in several places along the coast to dispel the dunes and prevent their future formation. 
