DUNE. 533 DUNFERMLINE. high winds. Aloiifj the sandy Atlantic coast of North America, I'rom Cape Cod to Cape Canav- eral and beyond, such wind-built hills of moving sands arc common features. In this region they are found from five to forty feet in height, while on the coasts of the lieriiuidas or Bahamas they reach a height of 100 to 200 feet. They also characterize portions of the shores of Lake Michigan, the Caspian Sea, Sea of Aral, and otlicr inland water bodies. Concerning the growth of the dunes of the Xetherlandsr W. Chani)ers's Tour in Holland says: "At low water, when the beach is ex- posed to the action of the winds from the Cer- man Ocean, clouds of sand are raised into the air. and showered down upon the country for at least a mile inland; and this constantly going on. the result is, that along the whole line, from Haarlem to about Dunkirk or Calais, the coast consists of sandy mounds of great breadth, par- tially covered with grass and heath, but unfit for pasturage or any other purpose, and these are the bulwarks which protect the coast. In some places these dunes look like a series of irregular hills; and when seen from the tops of the steeples, they are so huge as to shut out the view of the sea." See Desert; .Eoli.^x AccrMui..Tioxs. DUNEDIN, diln-e'dln. The capital of the provincial district of Otago. in New Zealand, situated on the east side of South Island, at the head of Otago Harbor (ilap: Xew Zealand, C 6). Dunedin is well laid out. well paved, and lighted by gas. Encircling the city is a re- se'rve called the Town Belt. There are numerous handsome buildings, including many churches, the post-office, hospital. Government buildings, mechanics' institute, and several libraries. Dunedin is the seat of Otago University, opened in 1871. with four faculties; also of a training college for teaclicrs. and a museum with an art gallery. It has municipal water-works and street railways. The United States has a resi- dent consular agent. The city is the see of an Anglican and a Roman Catholic bishop. It is in regular steam communication with Melbourne, and is connected by rail with the principal cities on the island. The principal articles of export are grain, potatoes, and wool, wool and woolen goods being the most important articles of trade and manufacture. From its foundation by the New Zealand Company in 1848. the city rapidly increased in importance; chiefly after the year 1861. when the discovery of extensive gold- fields in the neighborhood caused a sudden in- crease of population. The population of the cit.v. 1901. 24,880 (of which 124 were Chi- nesei. has been practically stationar.v since 1881. DUNE VEGETATION. Plants which in- habit sandy areas that are or have been worked over by the wind. They form one of the leading edaphic groups of xerophytcs (q.v.). Com- paratively few plant species are naturally adapted for life in such severe conditions; not only ftiust the plants be pronounced xerophytes, but they must be able to endure partial sub- mergence in the sand. Probably the most char- acteristic of all beach-dune plants is the sand- reed (Ammophila or Psamma), a plant which glows naturally on dunes all over the Northern Hemisphere; this genus is often planted to aid in holding dunes. Successful beach-dune plants Vol. VI.— s». usually have extensive underground stems, and in this way they often cover wide areas. The most interesting of all dunes are the wan- dering dunes, since they present peculiar ecologi- cal conditions. As a dime moes over a region it often submerges the vegetation in its path- way, wlietlier it be lowland or upland. Very few plants can adapt themselves to the new conditions, though a few species, especially wil- lows, are able to do so; in this latter case the buried stems send out roots. As a dune passes on, the buried plant societies often apixnir again as soil lines, and sometimes dead trees are shown — a sort of natural graveyard. On the dune itself the vegetation is very slight, bccau.se the unstable soil prevents plants from securing a foothold. A few short -livc<l annuals are occa- sionally seen, and perennials may be found in protected depressions. If a dune for any reason ceases its movement, vegetation easily finds a foothold, and it is not long before the once wan- dering dune becomes permanently established and covered with a rich vegetation. These facts show that it is the instability of dunes, rather than their xerophytic character, which excludes plant life. In tropical regions, the dune plants, of course, belong to quite ditl'ercnt species, yet their ecological characteristics are the same. There, as in the United States, xerophytic grasses, with long underground steins which have the power to flourish when half buried in the sand, are still the dominating foniis. See Edaphic; Xerophytes; Desert. DUNFERMLINE, dun-fer'lin (Gael., fort of She alder-tree ])Ool). A royal burgh and city, and the chief town of the western district of Fifeshire, Scotland. Ki'miles northwest of Edin- burgh (Map: Scotland, E 3). It was a place of note before the end of the eleventh century, and some interesting fragments of its ancient regal and ecclesiastical magnificence still re- main. What is called ilaleolm Canmore's tower is a mass of shapeless ruins, but the south wall of the palace of the Stuarts still exists, over- hanging the romantic glen of Pittencrief. Of the "abbey, the frater hall or refectory and a tower aiid arched gateway still remain. The Romanesque nave of the abbey church, con- secrated in 1150, is 100 feet long and 55 feet wide. Among the noteworthy buildings are the Carnegie Librarv. Carnegie Buths. Saint Marga- ret's Hall, tlie Abliey Church, high school, county and coriioration buildings. The staple trade of the town is danask linen weaving, which took its rise about the beginning of the eighteenth cen- turs-. There are establishments for the spinning of iinen yarn, and several large factories where steam and hand loom weaving is carried on. There are also largo collieries and lime-works, iron-fnundries, breweries, dye-works, and fire- clay work-^. Pni)ulation. in 1901. 25.250. At Dunferndine. JIalcolm Canmore, in 1080, founded a Benedictine abbey, which was greatly enlarged bv David I. in 1150. The palace, of which l>ut"fcw vestiges remain, was freqviently visited bv the Court, while the abbey became the burial-place of the Scottish kings. Charles I. was born in the palace in 1000. Dunfermline was made a royal burgh in 1588. In the seven- teenth century the town was burned by the sol- diers of Cromwell. The modern history of Dunfermline is chiefly remarkal)le in connection
