The St. Louis Republic. [volume] (St. Louis, Mo.) 1888-1919, 1903-03-01

from twenty to thirty feet in length, from
| a deusely interviewer mat beneath the sur
face In former days the plaII king of this
| grass was enforced by law ID Cane Cod
| and Provincetown. which actua Nv owes its
| preservation TO the humble vi led had at
| one time 4 so-called Beach CIR ISIS Commit
| tee, clothed with power to entd any mans
| Enclosure and set out MARIA b, whether
| the owner was willing or not las result
| sandstorms, which had been lie terror OF
4 thee village, were entirely dond 8away with.
Beach grass. as the MARIAN S otherwise
called, is abundant along the ores of the
| Great Lakes, and recently it Ia been intro
| duced on the Pacific Coast as n Sand binder
| In Maine it is replaced by sea yrne" grass.
while south Of Maryland ''bitt &r p ME- is
the chief and-binding plant. Creeping
panic and "St Augustine grays' are com
spicuous in North Carolina and ISouth Caro-
line, where they are utilized 70 some e.s-
tent for lawns. covering sandy yards with
a dense carpet of perepniel yer4ure.
Bitter panic. which gets its maine from the
bitter taste of its leaves when Ehewed. Is a
common beach plant from Connecticut
southwark. Another notable species he
longing to the Far South. is the "water
oats" which Is conspicuous partly by rea,,
son OF the large spikes of handsome flowers
which II bears. No plant of the kind, how
ever. SURPRISES in value. the sea lyme
grass. which has stout stems three to six
feet long; and sharp-pointed leaves. On the
| mesas or Arizona and Western Texas is
found the running mesquite" which might
pe propagated to advantage in that part OF
the country. = =
the sand dune problem Of more serious i'm
portance than along the Columbia River.
wnere vast areas have been overwhelmed
and permanently destroyed for agriculturai
purposes by drifting sand. At the great
bend of the Walla River is gorge
| through which the wind sometimes blows
. MIN terrlnc velocity; carrying before it
gion has been transformed into a hopeless
desert
Much live stock has been destroyed by
these SQndStOrmS oh, l..
inss, are among the most dangerous as
well as most appalling, Of natural phe-
nomena.. Sandstorms sometimes occur in
places along the eastern shores of the great
lakes. doing an immense amount of damage
and they are not unfamiliar in arid ports of
the West; but the most appalling mani
Iestions OF This kind are to be witnessed in
the Painted Desert OF Arizona where the
traveller, crossing an endless waste which
giares yellow In the ever shing sun, beholds
OBJECTS ike enormous giants moving swift
ly hither and hither They are sand whirls.
resembling waterspouts in their formation,
2o or 300 feet In diameter. perhaps. and
many hundreds Of feet in height. general
ed by currents of ascending heat, which
make sort of whirlwind to carry up the
sand. To encounter one OF these monsters
means quick Death by suffocatlon. unless
one lies prone upon the ground and waits
for II to pass.
The characteristic sand binding plant of
the western deserts is the alkali grass.
which has very peculiar method of grow
ing. In starting out to cover a fresh tract
It sends out long root stocks. often several
yards in length, from which at intervals
erect stems arise. At this period Of its
growth. and before the area has become
more completely covered the territory occu-
pied seems to be laid out in triangles,
quadrangles and other geometrical figures,
as ff arranged by human measurement
Fortunately,sthe planting OF sand binding
grasses is very easy, Though they may be
raised from seed, a reader method is pur-
sued by the experts Of the Forest Bureau,
who take the creeping root stocks and Gu.
-, Iasmsch IA. as each joint, when put into
small quantity. OF material IS required to
cover a considerable area.
Much Interest attaches to this work Of
the Government by reason of it's novelty
but Its importance, as affording a prospect
of safety for farmers In many parts of the
country, as well as for villages along the
coast, is hardly to be overestimated. II
the experiments now in progress are as
successful as is expected the sand demon
will be diyested Of Its terrors; sandstorms
will be abolished, and the restless and
peripatetic dune will be reduced to con-
dition of sedentary and domesticated harm
lcssnesS.