130 
Journal of the Mitchell Society [. December 
The entire area between these points is barren and unproductive. 
Only at the villages of Hatteras and Ocracoke. where the residents 
maintain small gardens is there any attempt to utilize the land in 
any way except for the pasturage of a small number of stock. 
Sand more or less fixed in the form of dome-shaped dunes extends 
from the ocean to the sounds. The damage here is complete and 
the improvement of the area as a whole is practically impossible. 
There are two localities on the area under discussion where pro- 
tective measures would prove a decided benefit. At the south- 
eastern and southern part of the woodland near Cape Hatteras the 
blowing sand is rapidly encroaching upon and destroying the for- 
est while at Beaufort Inlet the surface sand is being blown into 
Core Sound and, through the destruction of the beach, the width 
of the inlet is perceptibly increasing. The problem of arresting 
the damage at these two points is discussed in detail below. 
Cape Hatteras Forest 
Along the entire southern and western edges of the forest west 
of Cape Hatteras a considerable area of woodland is being buried 
and destroyed by blowing sand. As stated above, this timber has 
a distinct value and, in addition to its value for lumber, the occur- 
rence of the forest makes this locality by far the most desirable 
residence section of the banks. It is simply a question of a rather 
limited time, however, when the encroachment of shifting sands, 
together with destructive logging, will complete the permanent 
denudation of the area. 
The greatest difficulty to be encountered in the treatment of 
these lands is the fact that they are private property and therefore 
can scarcely be controlled by legislative action. Apparently 
nothing can be done, except in an advisory way, to regulate the 
exploitation of these woods. Fortunately, however, the logging 
operations were begun at the sound side of the forest remote from 
the area being encroached upon by the sand and hence the cut- 
over area will have an opportunity to reforest naturally before the 
removal of the timber immediately in the lea of the approaching 
sand dunes. The large proportion of loblolly pine in the stand 
makes reproduction certain with a minimum of protection. It is 
