SEarch 1, 1888. ] 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
165 
RECLAIMING SAND 
BANKS. 
+ 
S INCE “ Tourist's ” “ Memories of Margam ” appeared in these 
pages I have received letters from readers of the Journal in 
England, Scotland, Ireland, and AVales, who have lost much land 
■by the encroachment of sea sand, and as they all ask for full par’ 
ticulars of the reclaiming of the Margam sands I think the infor¬ 
mation will be most useful if given as an article. One gentleman 
residing in the neighbourhood of Liverpool gives details of enor¬ 
mous expense in hauling away the ever-encroaching sands from the 
buildings and gardens in his district, and the moving sand is un • 
doubtedly most destructive to property. Although some may 
think that the land bordering the shore is only a very small part 
of the country’s surface, it is surprising how large a space is covered 
with sand, and what trouble it gives about seaside residences. Still 
I can assure one and all, no matter where they live, or how shifting 
and extensive their sand hills may be, that if they go properly to 
work, they may not only fix the sand, but clothe its surface with a 
pleasing vegetation. In endeavouring to do this many costly ex¬ 
periments were tried by Mr. Talbot before success was reached. 
The field for operations was a grand one. Our sands border, and 
are fully exposed to the wide end of the Bristol Channel. They 
are upwards of 3000 acres in extent, and are deposited along the 
shore in mounds and vales. In some parts they extend landward 
for half a mile or more, in others they are narrow, and when sterile 
the surface is hardly ever still, and the sand moves in clouds with 
the direction of the wind. Occasionally it is only moved from one 
bank to another ; it is rarely blown out to sea, and the prevailing 
direction is landwards. I have known ten acres of good land to be 
completely covered and lost in one winter here, and anyone can 
readily imagine what a repetition of this would lead to in a gene¬ 
ration. I can safely say it would induce anyone to do their utmost 
to prevent it. 
One of our first experiments was to baul large quantities of 
brushwood down and place this in ridges along the^land side of the 
sand. This stayed its progress for a little while, but only for a 
little, as the sand soon covered the brushwood and moved on as 
before. Seeds of all kinds were tried. Bushels of Dock, Thistle, 
Nettle, &c., were collected in autumn and sown in spring, but the 
almost constant moving of the sands with the wind either covered 
the seed too deeply, or wafted it away, as the seedling plants never 
became visible. Twenty bushels of Broom seed were sown with 
the same result, and this confirmed the futility of seed-sowing. 
About this time one point of sand had encroached so far as to 
reach the main line of the Great Western Bail way. Indeed one 
night the sand drift was nearly stopping the traffic, and this brought 
an engineer to give his advice as to its treatment, and this gentle¬ 
man’s proposition met with my oppoisition. His plan was to build 
a high wall and retain the sand behind it, but from observation I 
felt sure this would be of no lasting good. I knew the sand would 
collect behind the barrier until it reached the top, and move onwards 
as before, but in a much more dangerous form. A very high ridge 
or a great accumulation of sand is a most dangerous deposit, as it 
c.in neither be planted nor removed with convenience. Two 
hundred acres of pure sand were close behind the point merging on 
the railway. I had my own way in the end in planting it. That 
is five years ago. It now resembles a luxuriant field, and not a 
wheelbarrow load of sand has reached the line since. 
No. 101.—VoL. XVI., Third Series. 
I have been told of a case like this where old sleepers were 
erected as a 6-feet fence to keep the sand off the railroad. Shortly 
afterwards it was level with the top, when a similar fence was 
placed upon the first. This, too, was covered on the inside, when 
a third was erected, only to share the same fate, and when the fence 
and banks were 16 feet high it was discovered that this plan M'ould 
not answer, and this is why I again say, do not attempt to fence 
out sand. Neither would I remove it from one place to another, as 
so long as it is capable of being blown about it will always prove a 
nuisance, no matter where it may be, and my advice is to plant in 
all cases. This is what has succeeded here, but it was only tried on 
a small scale as an experiment with the others at first. 
There is a Rush-like Grass with arched leaves 2 feet long named 
Ammophila arundinacea, indigenous to sea sand banks, and it is with 
this only that we have succeeded. It grows here and there in 
close tufts on the sands, and these tufts furnish a supply of plants 
for clothing the bare places. The roots of them spread for yards 
around and penetrate to a depth of 10 feet and 12 feet. They are 
dug up with a spade, but rooting so deeply they are not cleared out 
of the sand, but simply cut off about 1 foot below the surface ; and 
although many roots are secured to the Grass at this depth, those 
left below soon produce fresh and luxuriant growth and clothe the 
surface again in less than twelve months. The extent of our sands 
naturally covered with this Grass would not exceed 100 acres, but 
from this we have dug up and secured as much as has planted 2000 
acres. It was not all taken in one year. We have been planting 
from 200 acres to 300 acres annually for the last seven or eight 
years, and the plants cut over and replanted this year would grow 
again from the bottom roots and furnish another crop the second 
year. At first we only tried the Ammophila on a small scale. The 
plants were dug up and divided into little pieces that we could hold 
conveniently in the hand. These were dibbled into the sand at a 
distance of from 2^ feet to 3 feet each way, and twelve months 
after planting they were tufts about 1 foot in diameter. This led 
to more extensive planting, until 2000 acres have been done, and 
the result has been a perfect success. 
It was a serious matter to have 2000 acres of sterile sand to 
clothe with vegetation. Some asserted it ought to be a government 
undertaking, others said it would never be accomplished, but perse¬ 
verance surmounted it all. From four to six men have been 
employed at it from early in October till April since planting 
began. Planting is done systematically. One or two men make 
the holes in the sand, another one or two dig up the plants and 
carry them to where they are wanted, and a couple of boys insert 
them. The holes are made with a dibble about 3i feet in length. 
It has a cross head for the hands, and about 14 inches from the 
point there is a projecting piece of iron on which to put the foot to 
press it in when necessary. The point is shod with iron, and it is 
large enough to make a hole 3 inches in diameter. It is inserted 
every time up to the projecting iron. The holes are thus 1 foot 
deep and the plants are pushed down to this depth. The boys 
place them in and fix the sand to them with the heel of their boot. 
It is important that they be planted at least 1 foot deep, because 
immediately after planting the sand may be blown from them to a 
depth of G inches or more. This has happened many times, bat 
being inserted deeply they still retain their hold. We have also had 
the sand blown on them, but it is astonishing how the growth 
scrambles through, and less harm is done by covering than uncover¬ 
ing. A colliery manager in South Wales who was troubled with 
the sand blowing on and blocking their railroad to the pit was in¬ 
duced to adopt our plan two or three years ago. He asked me how 
“ far they should be planted apart.” My reply was from 2^ feet 
to 3 feet. He had a rod made to measure from plant to plant, 
and soon found measuring so expensive and tedious as to be inclined 
to give planting up ; but it is quite unnecessary, and I prefer push¬ 
ing on by guesswork. 
Now comes the question, “ What of the expense ?” This is very 
No. 2057.—VoL. LXXVIII., Old Series 
