Contributions in geographical exploration . by far the most importantspecies of the flora in providing a new plant cover on the ash. Its importance in the recovery of the country can hardlybe overestimated, for over large areas it was for a long time theonly ground cover. This was even more conspicuous in certainparts of the mainland than at Kodiak, for here there wereliterally many square miles of horsetail in pure stand. Althoughthis cover of horsetail was of little value in itself, its service inprotecting the ash surface from wind was of the greatest impor- 44 The Ohio Journal of Science [
Contributions in geographical exploration . by far the most importantspecies of the flora in providing a new plant cover on the ash. Its importance in the recovery of the country can hardlybe overestimated, for over large areas it was for a long time theonly ground cover. This was even more conspicuous in certainparts of the mainland than at Kodiak, for here there wereliterally many square miles of horsetail in pure stand. Althoughthis cover of horsetail was of little value in itself, its service inprotecting the ash surface from wind was of the greatest impor- 44 The Ohio Journal of Science [Vol. XIX, No. 1, tance. There can be no question but that its presence greatlymitigated and shortened the period of the prevalence of thedust storms which afflicted the country after the provided, moreover, a protection that gave very greatassistance to the seedlings of other plants. Many areas nowsupport an abundance of seedlings which would undoubtedlystill be barren wastes if it had not been for the Equisetum(see cut below).. Photograph by D. B. ChurchA TURF FORMED BY SEEDLINGS OF DESCHAMPSIA C^ came up under the protection of a rank growth of the pioneer horsetailwhich has been cut away in the foreground to expose the grass. HARD COMPACT BEDS OF ASH. Returning now to the areas occupied by fine grained ash, oneother set of conditions rather commonly encountered must bedescribed. Where masses of fine terra-cotta ash are so situatedas to be kept well drained, the particles set together so as toform a compact hard mass very unfavorable to plant experiments with this material show that seedlingsgrown in it are at a considerable disadvantage as comparedwith those in the coarser grained ash. The difficulty is probablydue to lack of aeration, as well as to the mechanical obstaclesto root extension offered by such a compact hard soil. Theanalyses show that it is not due to any deleterious chemical inthe Buckwheat, which was plant
Size: 1929px × 1295px
Photo credit: © The Reading Room / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookdecade1920, bookpublishercolum, bookyear1920
