% FISHERIES, GAME AND FORESTS. 399 



into its deeper and richer layers. The young trees would start with difficulty, but, if 

 there is sufficient moisture, grow later with surprising rapidity. A study of the annual 

 increment of our southern pine forests on coarse, sandy soils would convince even the 

 most skeptical of their adaptability for such purposes. A visit to most of the sand 

 lands of Europe has convinced me that it is improper to despise either sand or mud. 



The great disadvantage of sand soil is its inability to hold moisture and plant-food. 



This is a much greater disadvantage to agriculture than to forestry. In fact its 



porosity and looseness is often an advantage to forest growth. It permits the easy 



penetration of the roots, and affords to them an abundant supply of oxygen. If 



exposed to the leaching and beating action of rain, the surface layers of sand soil are 



soon deprived of plant-food. In a well-cared-for forest on sand soil the surface is 



always protected as much as possible against the destructive action of sun, wind and 



rain. Trees have the advantage of agricultural crops in that they penetrate to a much 



greater depth, and thus utilize the nourishment which would be otherwise unavailable. 



This is deposited in the leaves on the surface. These leaves decompose into humus, 



which protects and enriches the soil. The fact that sand becomes extremely hot is 



often a great disadvantage. The fact that it is naturally a warm soil is rather an 



advantage to the forest in that it can never become seriously hot and dry if properly 



protected by the canopy above and the leaf-mould and litter on the forest floor. The 



shifting of sand is a great disadvantage to agriculture because it injures and often 



actually buries young crops. When covered with forest it is of course stable. Tillage 



is primarily for the purpose of rendering land loose, porous and mellow. It has of 



course also in view the removal of weeds. In coarse sand, tillage is useless, if not 



harmful, for the soil is already too loose and porous. Unless sandy land is constantly 



fed with manure it deteriorates. It may be an advantage to let fields which are 



covered with rocks lie fallow for a time. They will no doubt improve in quality. 



With sand soil, however, it is otherwise. I am convinced that there is little, if any 



profit in the cultivation of sand lands. Hundreds of young pine groves on abandoned 



farms in our South are evidence enough of the best use to which such soils may be 



put. 



There is, however, some reason for the practice of agriculture on such soils. It is 

 the place for the one-horse farmer. Owing to the nature of the soil he is able to 

 plow it at any time when the frost is out of it, and do it with ease with one horse 

 and a small plow. It produces good sweet potatoes and melons, and there is time 

 for berries to ripen before the extreme drought of summer. It is poor farming, 

 however, at best. When the forest is treated as an essential part of the farm and as 

 one of the series in the rotation of crops, such farms become forest-farms, and 

 the system deserves no doubt to be classed as a modern, intensive combination 



