SAND BINDEKS. 37 



In this way the leaves are saved and the most difficult part of the 

 manual labor, the transfer of the hay from the load to the stack, 

 is still accomplished by the use of machinery. Another very decided 

 disadvantage of the "slide" method results from the difficult}^ of 

 making the stacks waterproof. Of course this can be accomplished, 

 but when a ton of hay is dropped in one place on the stack and similar 

 quantities are put up at such short intervals, the stackers do not usually 

 work it over so as to make the mass of uniform density. The consequence 

 is that there are places in the stack that are not well packed. When the 

 hay settles ; ' holes " occur, allowing the rain water to drain into the stack. 

 This would not be of so much importance if all of the crop were fed 

 the year it is cut, but this is often not the case. Much hay is some- 

 times held over to be fed the subsequent year. It is needless to say 

 that if not properly stacked it deteriorates very much in value. Some 

 of the last year's stacks of native hay put up by this method which we 

 examined were at least one-half rotten or moldy, while alfalfa stacks 

 carefully put up hy the derrick method had deteriorated but little, 

 although native ha}^ can be made to shed water much easier than alfalfa. 

 All of the hay raised is for home consumption and, in practically all 

 cases, is fed in the same fields where harvested. This is due not 

 only to the good price of beef, mutton, and wool, but also to the pro- 

 hibitive transportation tariffs and long distances from market. 



SAND BINDERS. 



All plants growing on sandy lands which are shifted by winds act 

 as sand binders and prevent, to a greater or less extent, the movement 

 of the sands. If a plant grows on such areas, therefore, it is to some 

 degree a soil or sand binder, and whether valuable as forage or not, it 

 serves a useful purpose in preserving the surface of the land intact 

 until it shall have become stable enough to support other and less per- 

 sistent vegetation. The appellation, sand binder, is therefore one of 

 degree rather than of kind, although usually applied to those plants 

 which have a means of efficient propagation enabling them to develop 

 rapidly and furnish a protective soil cover in regions where the con- 

 figuration of the surface is easily disturbed. The two first named 

 plants may be classed as true sand binders. The others perform some 

 service in this respect, but they have no special means of propagation 

 which enables them to draw upon the moisture and fertility of the 

 deep-lying strata and at the same time extend the area over which 

 they grow rapidly during dry weather. 



Psoralea (Psoralea purshii). — This plant, although it does not grow on soils which 

 change their positions as rapidly as the next, is still, on account of its abundance in 

 very sandy soil and under very adverse conditions, the most important soil binder 

 of the region. Many large areas are to be found in northern Nevada, especially in 

 the vicinity of Winnemucca and on the narrow strips of sandy land which are usu- 



