FORESTRY COMMISSION. 127 



A SAND DUNE OR SAXl) BLOW IN NEAVAYGO COUNTY. 



I!Y E. B. r.O(;UK. 



On Afay seventh, accompanied by State Land Commissioner Wildey, 

 the writer visited a tract of land estimated to contain five or six hun- 

 dred acres in tlie eastern jiarl of Newaygo county (township 1.'! north 

 ranne 11 west). It lies about seven, miles east and about half a mile 

 south of AVliite Cloud and over 1(1 miles from Lake Michig'an. 



The tract may be called a sand blow, the name applied to it by the 

 people of that neighborhood. As nearly as could be ascertained the 

 history of the blow is this : The land was once covered with trees with 

 o))en park-like patches of grass. The settlers cleared off the tindier, 

 plowed the ground and raised agricultural crops up to within a few 

 years ago, when the soil having become depleted in fertility was allowed 

 to run waste. No vegetation immediately took possession of the ground 

 which left an opportunity for the wind to get at the dry light sand. 

 There being considerable open country to the west the wind gathered 

 considerable force and it was not long before the sand began to raise 

 in great clouds and travel off to leeward, gradually dropping with the 

 reduced force of the wind just as snow is carried and swept along in 

 winter. This ])rocess has been going on until the present surface is 

 three to four feet lower than the original surface. To the leeward land 

 once tillable is now buried beneath several feet of sand and the process 

 seems to be on the increase and will continue indefinitely until some 

 artificial barrier stops it or it finds a natural one. Residents of the 

 ueigjliborhood say that the sun is not infrequently entirely obscured as 

 if by dense smoke. We regret that neither time nor opportunity allowed 

 us to make some accurate and reliable investigation as to the rapidity 

 of the translocation of the sand, but we think that it would be safe to 

 estimate that the surface of the blow itself is being lowered at the rate 

 of four to six inches every year on the average and that land to leeward 

 is being covered in a border at the rate of as many rods wide. Neither 

 did we determine the distance to the water table, but the sand was 

 moist only two or three inches or even less below the surface. 



From the gi'owth of the white pine it is evident that there is some clay 

 not far away. A vigorous growth of running blackberries, or dewberries 

 as they are sometimes called, was seen in one place and in another a 

 strong plant of spreading juniper was noticed. In the brush were species 

 of thorn-apple, cherry and so forth. 



In anticipation of our intended visit a few rods of quack-grass about 

 100 willow cuttings, and a hundred each of yearling catalpa and locust 

 had been previously shipped to White Cloud. No knowing very defin- 

 itely what conditions we should meet we took these into the buggy at 

 White Cloud, drove to the blow, and found ourselves far from a farm 

 with the grass, trees and cuttings so we proceeded to plant the grass 



