48 PROCEEDINGS: BOSTON SOCIETY NATURAL HISTORY. 
68,755 evergreens of 25 varieties, and 12,590 deciduous sorts of 79 va- 
rieties," — as well as 50 pounds of the seed of the Maritime Pine, 
Pinus maritima. This large shipment reached Sable Island the mid- 
dle of May, 1901, and under the direction of Lieut. -Col. Gourdeau 
and Mr. Saunders, planting was started at once. The crates were un- 
packed and the young trees, almost all of which arrived in good con- 
dition, were placed in trenches in the moist sand with their roots well 
covered. The work of planting the thousands of trees was pushed 
forward vigorously and completed on the 17th of June. Of the trees 
about 300 were planted near the East End Lighthouse, about 1000 
at No. 2 Life Saving Station, about 5,000 at No. 3 L. S. S., about 
3,000 at No.4L. S. S.,and the remainder at Gourdeau Park, a section 
near the Wireless Station formed of low rolling dunes covered with 
a thick mat of trailing Jimipenis and Evipctmm. This area is one 
of those called Empetrum Heaths, where a thin layer of dark humus 
has been formed above the white sand. 
An accurate statement of the nature and conditions of the soil 
and the climate of Sable Island where these young trees were 
planted is given by Mr. Saunders.^ 
"I brought with me a sample of the almost pure sand forming the 
soil on the top of the sandy bluff on which the first plantation was 
made in which the sand binding grass was growing, also two samples 
of the black peaty layer which covers the sand to a depth of 3 to 4 
inches over a large portion of the central part of the island, probably 
to the extent of 1,800 to 2,000 acres. One of these was taken from 
the large area chosen for the plantation to be known as Gourdeau Park, 
and the other was from similar soil some miles further east. I also 
brought a sample of similar material picked up on the beach on the 
south shore where it was being washed by the sea. A fifth sample 
consisted of a bunch of the sand-binding grass Ammophila arenaria 
[= A. breviligulata Fernald]. These were submitted to the Chemist 
of the Experimental Farms, Mr. F. T. Shutt, for analysis, who re- 
ports on them as follows: 
'Analysis and Report on Samples From Sable Island. 
'By Frank T. Shutt, Chemist, Dominion Experimental Farms. 
'No. 1. Sample of the sand from field on top of the bluff, northeast of the 
look-out, where first forest clump was planted. It contains roots of grass 
Ammophila arenaria [A. breviligulata] . Weight of sand 2 pounds 13 ounces, 
containing % ounces of grass roots. 
' Saunders, Wm., I. c. 
