62 STOCK RANGES OF NORTHWESTERN CALIFORNIA. 



rush, willow, etc., is -starting. But none of these plants checks the 

 sands in the "drifts," and more vigorous measures of reclamation 

 must be adopted if his alluvial bottom lands are to be saved. 



Beach grass makes an excellent and very durable thatch, and has 

 been used for the manufacture of coarse paper. 



Esparto (Stipa tenacissima) and albardin (Lygeum spartum) are 

 worth trial on these dunes, as they have proved well adapted to the 

 climate at Berkeley. They are natives of the sand} 7 shores of south- 

 western Europe and northern Africa, and are tall perennial grasses, 

 with long, stiff, and very tough leaves, from which ropes, baskets, 

 mats, hats, and other articles are woven. The leaves are employed 

 largely in England and in this country in the manufacture of paper, 

 for which purpose they are superior to straw. Esparto is one of the 

 most important articles of export from Algeria, and more than 2,000 

 tons are annually shipped from northern Africa and Spain to Great 

 Britain. "Ten tons of dry esparto, worth from $18 to $25 per ton, 

 can be obtained from an acre under favorable circumstances." These 

 grasses may be cultivated either by seeds or by division of the root; 

 but the latter is the more common method. Specimens for trial are 

 offered by the director of the agricultural experiment station at 

 Berkeley. (See PI. VIII, fig. 1.) 



At Cape Cod it has been found possible to raise fine growths of pine 

 trees and shrubs on the dunes within three years after the first plant- 

 ing with beach grass. The species used were a native pine (Pinus 

 rigida), Scotch pine (P. sylvestris), seaside pine (P. maritima), and 

 Austrian pine (P. austriaca), Scotch broom {Genista scoparia), and 

 bayberry (Myrica cerifera). (PI. VIII, fig. 2.) All of these would 

 probably thrive equally well on the coast of northwestern California, 

 but it is not necessary to import trees for the purpose, as the native 

 coast pines, so common in the region, would answer as well or better 

 and make fuel of an excellent quality. Of these the most valuable 

 for this purpose would be the Monterey pine (Pinus radiata) and the 

 prickle-cone pine (P. muricata). The scrub pine (P. contorta) is also 

 valuable, particularly as a wind-break. Some of the rapidly growing 

 Australian acacias, particularly A. longifolia sophorce and Albizzia 

 lopantha, are also satisfactoiw as nurse trees, wind-breaks, and for 

 ornamental effect. Such trees and shrubs can easily be raised when 

 once the beach grass is established by scattering seeds among the 

 tufts of the latter. In addition to their value for fuel, such a growth 

 of trees acts as a wind-break, an exceedingly useful feature in such 

 localities. 



THE REDWOOD BELT. 



As before noted, the redwood belt consists for the most part of a 

 dense forest of timber occupying a narrow strip of country immediately 

 back of and almost parallel with the coast. Owing to the immense 



