held for housing developments or were used for one- 

 family farming operations have grown up to grass 

 and have become catch-alls for rubbish. These 

 unsightly areas constitute a serious fire menace. 

 If planted, they would provide recreational areas for 

 the townspeople, and eventually timber. 



Mine Waste Banks 



Mine waste banks (fig. 7) cover thousands of acres 

 that might otherwise be forested. In dry weather 

 they are a source of blowing dust; tons of silt erode 

 from them into the valley bottoms, and they con- 

 tribute largely to the silting of streams. United 

 States Army engineers estimate that each year nearly 

 a million tons of mine waste enters the Schuylkill 

 River alone, and that 30 percent of this is from the 

 surface waste banks. 



Analysis of the banks has shown that they lack 

 essential minerals, have little or no humus, are highly 



acid, and easily become overheated near the surface. 9 

 These factors make it difficult for trees to become 

 established. Fertilizers and shading might assist 

 young transplants in overcoming these obstacles. 

 Experiments in planting in the northern field show 

 that black locust will grow on mine waste. Clammy 

 locust also will accommodate itself, and a few other 

 species have shown promise. Some natural affores- 

 tation takes place. 



Surface Strippings 



The last 20 years has seen a great increase in surface 

 stripping. With the development of modern machin- 

 ery, it has proved cheaper to mine coal that lies near 

 the surface by this method. As a result thousands of 

 acres of forest land have been stripped of their soil 

 and the forests destroyed. The banks of shale, soil, 

 and sandstone thrown up in the process of digging 



9 OSTROM, C. E. REPORT ON PRELIMINARY SURVEY OF PLANTING 

 PROBLEM ON ANTHRACITE MINE REFUSE BANKS. 34 pp. 1940. 



[Unpublished ms., Allegheny Forest Expt. Sta.] 



Figure 8. — Surface strippings present a difficult problem. 



Miscellaneous Publication 648, U. S. Department of Agriculture 



