The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1903-03-11
Winds That Cover Farms With Sand
and Render Them
Valueless.
Kansas City Star.

that comes into his path. Many village
has he gobbled up and many a good square
mile Of fertile territory has he converted
into a dismal desert
Various cOntriVances have been tried for |
fighting the monster but up to the present |
time the only one found effective has been
the planting of beach grass, by which the
threatening dunes are transformed into |
grass clad hills, stationary and immova-
BILE. The process is now to be supple |
mented, under the supervision Of Uncle |
Sans foresters, by tree planting, which, |
under favorable conditions, will oblige the
reformed and domesticated sand noun
tain to make itself useful as producer
of fuel.
The term sand mountain is not misap
piled, inasmuch as these dunes frequently
attain a height Of more than 200 feet.
Their miscellaneous ally is the wind, which,
under suitable Typographical circum
stances, piles up the sand and when there
happens to be a big storm is capable of
| moving huge dunes over considerable dis
tances within twenty -four hours. Such
a state Of affairs is found along the
stretch of coast already mentioned, where
the bureau of forestry began experimental
work In the autumn Of 1901 by erecting
strong fences of boards to alter the course
| Of the most threatening sand hills.
FortlflcatIons Of Trees.
The scene of the first experiment was
|
| fifty acres of dunes were planted with
| beach grass in the spring Of 1902 and al
ready there Is fair growth. In the COM
| ing spring trees will be planted over the
same area and there will be nothing fur
| Their to be done except to await results.
| 1t is believed, however. that with judic-
| ious selection Of species the trees will
thrive and that within a few years the
| sand hills will be covered with forests,
productive of supplies of wood which are
| much needed in that part Of the country.
| Meanwhile the government experts are
doing similar work at various other
points in the same region, along thirty
miles of coast, and in due time all of that
! shore line presumably will be protected
by a fortification Of tree planted dunes,
the once dangerous sand hills being firmly
anchored by vegetation and persuaded to
do duty as defensive barriers. Exploring
parties also have been sent out to study
the dunes formed by drifting sand along
the Columbia river, (which are destroying
many orchards and extensive areas of rich
agricultural land in sQregan and Washing
ton; incidentally hindering transportation
by rail. There is plenty of trouble Of the
same kind in places along the shores of
the great lakes and an appeal will be made
to congress for money with which to carry
} on the experiments on a greater scale.
i :. Tree planting is merely a, supplement-
airy expedient, the first and main reliance
| binding grasses, whose strong creeping
roots-in reality they are modified under
ground istems-penetrate deep and widely
through the sand and knit it together in
a network of almost unbreakabe fbers.
Such humble plants take no unimportant
part in the battle which is waged unceas-
inglyS between the water and the land, de-
tying the encroachment Of the waves, and
, only with their aid has it been possible
for Holland to withstand the North sea
and to retain possession of the territory
so laboriously wrested from it.
Many Varieties of Grasses Utilized.
There are many kinds of sand binding
grasses, but the best known of them all is
, the sand reed"~ or "marram," which is
the conspicuous species along the Atlantic
coast from New Hampshire to Maryland
l its long leaved stems growing In tufts
from two to four feet high, while it's roots
, often from twenty to thirty feet in length
I form a densely interviewer mat beneath
' the surface. In former days the planting
! of this grass was enforced by law on Cape
Cod, and Provincetown, which actually
owes it's preservation to the humble weed
had at. one time a so-called Beach Grass
committee, clothed with power to enter
any mans enclosure and set out MARIAN
whether the owner was willing or not. A
G a result sandstorms. which had been the
terror of the village, were entirely done
away with. -;
Beach grass, as the MARIAN is otherwise
e called, is abundant along the shores Of the
g great lakes, and recently it has been intro
= duced on the PACIFIC coast as a sand bind
$ er. In Maine it is replaced by "sea lyme
l grass, while: south of Maryland "bitte,
u panic"' is the.chief sand binding plant
e "Creeping paic"- and est. Augustine
t grass are conspicuous in North Caro-
lima and South Carolina, where they arr
n utilized to some extent for lawns. GOV
nd de- with
t of perennial verdure. :?
It Bitter panic, which gets its name from
e the bitter taste of it's leaves when chewet
: is common beach plant from Connect
: cut southwark. Another notable species
u belonging to the far south, is the 'wate
y oats" which is conspicuous partly b.
: reason of the large spikes of handsome
: flowers which it bears. No plant Of tn
g kind. however, surpasses in value the use;
: lyme" grass. which, has stout stems thre
to six feet long and sharp pointed leaves
e On the mesas of Arizona and wester,
= Texas is found the running mesquite,
9 which might be propagated to advantag
: in that part Of the country.
IL In no other part of the United State
e is the sand dune problem of more seriou
. Importance than along the Columbia
e river where vast areas have been over
= whelmed and permanently destroyed 70
g agricultural purposes by drifting sand. A
y the great bend of that mighty stream
: in the neighborhood of the Walla Wall;
: river. is a gorge through which the. wine
n som etimes blows with terrific velocity
carrying before it sheets Of sand. B.
e this means wide region has been trans
: formed into a hopeless desert.
q Live Stock Destroyed.
q Much live stock has been destroyed b
. these sand storms. which, even to huma
h beings, are among the most dangerous a
II well as the most appalling of natural phe
I nomena Sand storms, sometimes occur i
places along the eastern shores Of tn
# great lakes. doing an immense amount {
Is damage, and they are not unfamiliar /
70 arid parts of the west. but the most ap
palling manifestations of this kind are
IS be witnessed in the Painted desert Of Ari
Ill -.
y - 10 = ~
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