Contributions in geographical exploration . sand. The sand blast was thus very hard on allplants exposed to it. The few weeds which escaj^ed the plowand came up through the ash in the ojxmi jiart of the field were 38 The Ohio Journal of Science [Vol. XIX, No. 1, nearly destroyed by the sand blast. They were all loppedover before the wind, and their lower leaves either cut to piecesor so plastered with the drifting ash as greatly to interferewith their functions. (See page 34). Where the plants stoodthicker, on the other hand, at the edge of the field, they checkedthe moving sand which formed c
Contributions in geographical exploration . sand. The sand blast was thus very hard on allplants exposed to it. The few weeds which escaj^ed the plowand came up through the ash in the ojxmi jiart of the field were 38 The Ohio Journal of Science [Vol. XIX, No. 1, nearly destroyed by the sand blast. They were all loppedover before the wind, and their lower leaves either cut to piecesor so plastered with the drifting ash as greatly to interferewith their functions. (See page 34). Where the plants stoodthicker, on the other hand, at the edge of the field, they checkedthe moving sand which formed conspicuous drifts behind them.(See page 37). These drifts follow exactly the famihar forms ofsnow drifts. Some of them are several feet deep, formingshifting dunes very Hke those of the sea shore. Where suchdunes were caught by growing vegetation, the plants have hada severe struggle to maintain themselves. The more rapidlynew growth was pushed out beyond the engulfing sand, themore drift did the plants catch and the higher must they grow. Photograph by R. F. Griggs HILLOCK OF DRIFTING ASH CAUGHT BY A WILLOW WHICH ISOVERTOPPING THE OBSTRUCTION BY ITS GROWTH. to clear it. Many plants in this way surmounted drifts muchthicker than they could have penetrated if they had accumulatedall at once. In some cases, as in the willows, where the plantscould readily send out new roots into the sand, they are probablylittle the worse for their experience. (See cut above). Butplants like the fireweed, which have no such capacity, weresoon so deeply buried that it overtaxed the conducting systemto maintain the connection between the leaves and roots. Atthe edge of the field in question, they held out for four seasonsand at the end of 1915 were apparently unaffected by the strug-gle. But the next spring they failed to come up, showing that Nov., 19IS] Recovery of Vegetation at Kodiak 39 the dune had finally been too much for them. It is obviousthat no new plants can gain a foothold so long as s
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