BAR.

ban

The exact dimensions of the bank, and of the ditchwithin it, cannot be precisely ascertained by any generalrule ; because both tides and floods rife to differentheights, and have different force, in different places andcircumstances. The strength above-mentioned may besufficient for banks in common cafes; but in others,where a great body of water, or a powerful tide is to beopposed, they may be, as the memoirs of the Berne So-ciety (tom. IF. part II. pag. 262) advise, four feet ormore wide at the top, with a basis proportioned to theirheight, as three and a half are to one; or, if it be de-sired to make them still more solid, as four to one; sothat if the bank be four feet and a half high, its basisin the former cafe will be fourteen feet wide, and in thelatter eighteen.

The Dublin society for the advancement of agricul-ture informs us f'Numb. XVII. for April 1737) that“ Lord Limerick has recovered between four and fivehundred acres of very rich falt-marlh, at Dundalk inIreland, and effectually secured them from the sea,,by such banks as are above described ; and by the samemethod many hundred thousand acres have been recoveredfrom the sea in Cambridgeshire, Lincolnshire, and otherparts of England; not to mention the low lands of Hol-land ; which are indeed secured against the violence ofthe sea by no other means.

“ If there be a necessity for making banks on astrand where nothing but sand can be met with, thosebanks should be large, and the stope very broad and ex-tended ; and if grafs-feed will not grow on them, letsea-weeds be planted. These with sticking furze, straw,or lopping of trees, will help to keep the banks toge-ther.”

But a better method, and more effectual, is given byDr. Hales in the Philosophical Transactions, from theexperience of Dr. Wark, a clergyman in Scotland. Themethod consists in fixing to the bottom of the channel,a breadth of furze proportioned to the force it is to resist.The sand or flime, as either abounds, will soon fettleamong the branches of the furze ; and when the firstbed of the furze is thus intefwoven or covered, anotherbed of furze is to be laid on as before, and so on,till the bank is raised to a sufficient height. Dr.Warkassures us, that by this simple method a bank was madenear Holv-ifland so strong, that it became a bar againstthe sea itself.

“ It sometimes happens, that the sea flows in througha narrow gut or passage, by which the inland waters aredischarged, and then extends itself, and covers a greatdeal of ground When this happens, if the inland wa-ters cannot be diverted into another course, since a pas-sage must be left for their discharge ; let a strong sluicebe fixed in the lowest part of the channel, with largepiers o! stone, running out for its support, and a strongfoundation of wood or broad stones for the water to runover. When this is done, let the banks of sand, or othersoil near at hand, be made in the manner already men-tioned, on each side of the sluice.

“ The reason why it is advised, in places where a sluiceis to be made, to begin the work by this rather thanby the bank, is, that while the tides have liberty to flowin and out at a great breadth, the sluice may be madein any part of the channel without being much incom-moded by the tide; whereas if it be deferred till the banksvn each side are made, the force of the tide, when con-j

fined to a narrow passage, will tear up all before it, aridrender the building of the sluice impracticable : and uponthe fame account, the banks should be begun at thelowest part of the channel, and carried on from thenceto the upper grounds.

“ If, by any accident, the waters should swell so highas to overflow and tear the banks, farther mischief maybe prevented by fixing with all expedition, a sail-cloath,or sheet of linen at the bottom of the bank, where theflood breaks in; for if this be done in time, the waterwill flow over the cloth, without washing away thebank.

“ In every improvement, the expence should be parti-cularly considered. That of making banks in this me-thod is small. In low grounds the soil is soft, and dugwith ease, and all the work may be done with the spadeand shovel, without pick-axes, which must be used inupland ground, and the materials are on the spot. Allthe charge will be often more than repaid by the firstyears improved crop of grafs, and the safety of themeadows. The produce of succeeding years will amountmuch higher, and the husbandman will be out of alldanger for the future of having his lands overflowed andspoiled. Farmers have frequently sustained more da-mage from the hay destroyed in one season by floods,than the whole value of what it would have cost them toinclose and bank their meadows, and free them from allhazards.”

BANNOCK, an oat-cake kneaded with water only,and baked in the embers.

BANQUET, in that small part of the branch of thebridle that is under the eye, which being rounded like asmall rod, gathers and joins the extremities of the bit to -the branch, and that in such a manner, that the banquetis not seen, but covered by the cap, or that part of th©bit which is next the branch.

To BAR a vein, implies an operation in farriery per-formed in the following manner: they open the /kinabove and below the place where the operation is to beperformed, and after freeing the vein from the surround-ing parts, they tie it at those openings with two ligatures;after which they open the vein between the ligatures inorder to discharge the blood. Th s operation is performedupon the veins of a horse’s leg, and other parts of hisbody, in order to stop the course, and lessen the quan-tity of malignant humours that prevail there.

BARB, a general name for horses imported fromBarbary.

The chest of the barb is long and slender, rises beau-tifully from the withers, his mane little, his head wellshaped, small, and lean ; his shoulders flat and slender ;his withers narrow and plump ; his back strait ami short;his flanks and sides round, and not bellying out; hishaunches firm and well shaped ; his croop generallysomewhat long, and his tail placed pretty high ; histhigh well shaped, and seldom flat; his leg handsome,well shaped, and without longhair at the pastern joint;his foot well made, but his pastern often long.

Barbs are of all colours, but generally brown. Theyare something negligent in their goings; but, properlyencouraged, shew an amazing swiftness and vigour;they are very light and fit for running ; and seem of allothers the fittest to breed from. It were, however, tobe wished that they were a little taller, the largest barelyexceeding fourteen hands; and one of fourteen hands

and