Chat. VIII-

BRITAIN.

3 45

body of the bar will be cleared of sand, and the harbour’s mouth found in the beststate.

To prevent this constant state of fluctuation that the harbour was subject to, Smeaton recommended the erection of the north pier, which not only confined the land freshes tillthey arrived at deep water, but prevented the sand and gravel from being driven in. Thefirst stretch of this pier carried out was 400 feet; this part not being subject to be over-flowed by the tide, the base was 20 feet, the width at top 12 feet, and the height12 feet.

'file second stretch, another 400 feet, with a mean base of 28 feet, 14 feet 6 inches attop, and 20 feet high ; the third stretch was 546 feet beyond the last, having at a mean36 feet base, 24 feet top.

The sides at a medium were 4 feet 6 inches thick, filled in with rough stones.

The pier head was to have had a base of 60 feet diameter, 48 feet at top, and 24 feethigh.

The parapet, the whole length of which was 1400 feet, had a base of 4 feet 6 inches, and3 feet width at top, and was in height 4 feet, and the estimated cost was 10,000/.

In the year 1778 Smeaton found the pier completed according to his suggestions, and ithad produced the increase of depth and freedom of passage he expected; but the swell athigh water, meeting with nothing to control it, made its way through the clear passagebetween the two piers, where meeting with nothing to break or disperse it in the bay, theyturned round along the shore, and spent their fury upon any objects they came in contactwith. To remedy this inconvenience, he suggested that at the commencement of the oldSandness Point, a deposit should be made of rough stones, projecting towards the middle ofthe open space, rising towards the pier, and sloping towards the low water; this was to beof rough granite.

This catch pier he fancied would have the effect of quieting the harbour, and leave aclear water-way of 300 feet of navigable channel, and it was not thought requisite to carrythis breakwater higher than spring tide mark, the seas being suffered to break over it athigh water.

There is nothing which tends to quash and disperse a wave when it is raised so wellas allowing its breaking upon a sloping beach ; on this account the continuance of thesouth piers so far to the westward has an injurious effect, in preventing the seas fromspending and breaking, as they would do, upon the naturally sloped shore ; and this southpier was required to be removed, as the use of the new catch pier was to throw the seasmore effectually over to the south side, and, unless there was a sloping beach for them tobreak upon, they would again be reflected back from the side towards the north, and pro-duce effects disagreeable to some part of the harbour.

This catch pier was formed of blocks of split granite, which was done at the quarries;they were cut into wedge-like pieces, and made of parallel shapes, and each alternate stonecomposing the circular end of the pier was a header, and the others tended towardsthe centre, whilst those lying between were retained in the manner of a dovetail; and theheader stones themselves being anchored at their tails, that is, at their inward or smallerends, to an anchor or cross stone, by means of an iron cramp to each, the whole were heldcompactly together. It was particularly requisite that the wedge stones should be madeto fit properly.

The wedge-like header stones which formed the turn to the head, and which held the in-termediate stones between them, were tied to the anchor stones at their tails by iron cramps,an inch square, turned down and rounded at each end, to go into jumper-holes, and fixed inthem with wood wedges without lead, as the weight of the courses above them was sufficientto keep them from starting.

This harbour seems to have been viewed by Smeaton as a tide harbour. HieRiver Dee, which admitted the tide to flow upwards about 2 miles, and spread itselfover some very flat ground, did not acquire sufficient strength, to carry out all the depositsthat were borne down from the country above, through which the river flowed. Thetide, meeting the fresh water, occasioned the sand, stones, and mud, to be deposited, andat last a bar was formed, which almost obstructed the entrance for large vessels.

Smeaton finding the river spread over a space upwards of 500 yards in breadth, imme-diately had recourse to confine it in a narrower channel; and for this purpose it was thatlie founded the north pier, which continues 700 feet eastward from ordinary high watermark, and then starts off to the north for another 500 feet, in order that the currentmight have a proper direction given to it.

Another pier was also built on the south side of the river about half the length of theother, and two small jetties and a small basin were formed by Mr. Smeaton , in conformitywith the act of parliament obtained in 1773. •

In the year 4810, another act for the improvement of this port was obtained, and Mr.Telford employed to carry out its object. lie commenced by ascertaining the quality of