THE VEGETATION OF MONTAUK 



59 



at Montauk as they did at Edinburgh,* then there may well be an increase 

 of from 20% to 50% in wind movement over the greater part of the Downs, 

 and practically all the vegetation has been subjected to wind movement 

 considerably in excess of the figures given in the table. 



Figure 21. Wind wrenched specimen of white oak [Quercus alba) on windward edge 

 of Hither Woods. There are hundreds of such specimens along the seaward edge of the 

 woods, which extends about four miles west-southwest of Fort Pond. 



But not only is the strength and distribution of the winds that sweep 

 over Montauk of significance, — their direction is even more so. Sum- 

 marizing again from the Weather Bureau records, it transpires that except 

 for the occasional ' Northeaster,' the bane of boatman, all these great winds 



* Journ. Scot. Meteorl. Soc, new series 5: 348. 1880; quoted by Schimper, not seen 

 by me. 



