The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1877-1885, 1878-05-16


Sand dunes, or downs, IS ii Is mold
commonly written IN Eus,4ad, ase not
counued To the old world We havu
Them on a huge scale III North Carolina.
In TACT our sAole sea front Is a stretch
OF dunes, aim yst continuous, Tor r.o.e
than 2OO miles. The finer PARTICLES
OF sand. driven up on the shelyi,x
beacn Uy tie rising TIDE, aIe speedily
unCd Dy the sun ana wind A. tie
wafer Ieccle, and arc swept by tie
4"ndward breeze into long waves. or
nlIlOcks, whose CTests iise suCCessIycIy
higher and higher, A. the material a.
muIates, 20, -, %, 100 fee, present.
In5 long and gradual slope toward.
the sea, but dropping OF plecip!tous.y
10 the leewaid. Sometimes seyrtAA
parallel lines OF these advancing sauu
waves viii Do seen, QUO pursuing
another. In many places a auue may
DC seen rolled back INTO the forest tor
many rods, or even huudied OF yards,
VI course leaving only bare aud dcaIeucd Il
franks behind. " hat are called ''tl4e
banks, along our coast, are nothing
but dunes, whose shifting sands arc
continually hiung up the chain uf
sound III frOat, and converting them
INTO marshes Lrst, and then into diy
land, the slime from the rivers, aud sea
shells, AIDING and accelerating tho
process. Anu by aud by, the whole
ot AloemaTie and PamltcO will be uO-
liberated aAd added 10 the mainland by
these agencies alone, even IL there
should be no further rise OF coast. I'm
meBse addltlous have been made to our
territory III past ages Ia tins Way. SasA
old lines OF wind driven sand waves afc
still distinctly tTaceaDie for many inIlr-
III counties Iyi". westward oi thee,
great sounds, marking the ancient silos e
llue TO winch the Atlantic waves AL
Yauced. before the present great sea
wall 1.-THE banks, was thrown up
OF course the TaJe Of movement Of tue
dune ID ordinarily very SOW, aud VARIES
iIom point - point OF the shore, a.
cordIng 10 the force aud stcAdiness oi
the on sIorc wind and the amount oG
material brought up from the depths Ji
the sea by the storm waves, to DC dls-
tIlbuted BY the aCJlol OF the ordinary
tides. \ cIIIous incident save me
opportunity during the late war, 10
calculate the velocity oi tie dune on
the lower part oi oar cast, aud of
South Carolina, opposite the y lccatnA"
river. Ia looking our Tor All ciIgto.o
stu Atom for the manufacture OF SALT,
came upon the spot winch had oc II
occupied for the same purpose durng
the war Of loI2. 4 large csaposAtIus
pot which had been mounted under the
lee o. dune some ~ icet Ll.n, hal
just made IT. appearance Oh the saore-
ward side. tie year before my Visit.
Tlat Is, IL % yeaIs, from l5l- - lSG-,
tie wave A4d just Ia wed oser IAs
breadth OF lts base, which Mas - feet;
giving Tor the rate OF motion, one - y
year.
On the Other side Of the Atlantic,
winch IS exposed - the full force 81
great southwest trade wind, anu Of tue
storms which have swept the breadth
of the ocean. tue advauce oi tho daae
is much more rapid, reaching sotnc-
times 20 or ~ feet III a year. And on
the B.scavau shore Of rance, Tor cx-
ample. many farms aud villages rave
been buried out OF sight as cncctuaI!y
a, was Pompeii, by the sand rain from
Sesuvius. And the sitter Is so
serious, that the inhabitants and the
government have spent millions oi
francs III efforts 10 arrest the progress
of 50 destructive au agency. The only
success achieved has been oy means u
tree planting. the roots serving 10 Tx
aud hold the mobile mass, until al
length a catch Of grass can DC secured
4 species OF indigenous Joiuted grass
catches on the dunes OF our coast and
materially checks their movsmens.
~, K,