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377

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Nse 3 14 might have been of more value perhaps than at

■ n lile the interior grounds would have been more

I j J Se cured from the ravages of sudden floods. Not-

tb(j _ n ding the general indolence shown in most parts of! j'ricl ntl 7, respecting the acquisition of land by embanking,jt '-eeming aversion that most people have to engage, Undertakings, there have been, however, some

j s Ubj ec( . V® a »d enterprising projectors, whose ideas upon thati a '" e soare d far beyond the bounds allotted to common

j! ,|)rj fit ; andil >gs. From the speculations of such people, thej j s Ur e i* r I^Pnrtant advantages are sometimes produced ; and'! ^iiu) le nian who is possessed of a speculative turn ofI i 1>la <!h a,1< ^ "'bo considers no obstacles insurmountable, is at|)a dy'i^ 01 ' 6 . use ^d member of society than he who is perpe-; / st .arti ng difficulties against every new project, and is

i. V ' n S nil things remaining in statu quo , that is, for

, tbe world as he found it.

j ea reclaiming land from the sea, for example,

■ lav ® appeared to a torpid genius of this kind, as a,; , to ° visionary for sober-minded men. A thousand

j, ^sta c j * 6s w ould have started up at such a proposal ; and| W e *> which, to a more expanded mind, would seem per-■ j '"tyedi ilct tcable to overcome, would have presented to himi Vh a ^ e,lts insuperable.

I, C) tcln ( ] e t ^° u ld such anti-projectors think of proposals to

°S8,

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tbe sea entirely from extensive bays, many milesv.5 j 111 ^ ex [ J osed to the full sweep of the winds and the'Xnk Such was the proposition to carry a railwaytk e r>lent across Morecambe Bay, and the estuary formed*°yl e ^uth of the Duddon, the embankments on Lough

k,

:t 'l'at n ti IreIan d, and otber similar works.tl le jjj r ® are many large tracts of land in different parts

d and n ^° m ’ botb on tbe sea ' coasts and on tbe s ' des of

JS . is, therefore, an object worthy of the attention ofat Hre t '° are 80 fortunate as to possess property of thisl^ 1 tnat° bave ascertained by persons of experience in^ ttia i S ’ * 10w i” ar tbe acquisition of additional portions ofi jt 0 ; Jfi ad equate to the expense which it may be neces-1 3 °the r c . Ur i n procuring it. But embankments are importantJks a)- Vle ' V3 ii* an those of gaining ground by them. When| th e j r e concerned, one material advantage is the deepeningt,e }' a() fri - C ° Ul ' ses , by which vessels of greater burthen thanI b f ltte d formerly, may be permitted to navigate them,riders p er > as embankments become more frequent on the3 b '=crul rivers and sea-sliores, the intervening distancesih ’ San,? 16 a aort: ba 7 s > * n which accumulations of shells,at ^ of A ^ rav< d, and other matters, may take place by the\v dfst t 16 *'des ; and these, however difficult they may bej° r k 0t) 0 et nbank, will in time be as easy to perform the6 | thj g ’ as the natural bays and creeks are at this period.thl 1 ** °r ten many rivers, which in their present state arek 1 Sf;a n, 611 . m 'les in width at their junction or influx withb ‘ tl 1 g Se na y in the course of years be reduced to less thancb ^all j stan ces. Consequently, such embankments wouldSa • o/ “ e neficial to the proprietors of land, and the mer-j 1;iv [ nan ufacturer, as many rivers would become more0|) th s i 'Sable, and those obstacles which interrupt theire «ibanL. 1 ‘ 0ll y rem oved.

k^ary ( ln S against the encroachments of the sea, it is' l ^ lt to Jk- a , Scerta ' n > w ' tb great accuracy, the maximum

e the water rises ; the methods

of doing this

^ial,; a iready shown. But as new works of this sort,tjij "b, it ' V ler e the banks are large, are liable to subside tooeu 6nt V fo y be a proper precaution to take the levels fre-^'d a» a ; r Soille time after they are completed, in order to6 s t any mischief which might arise in this way.5 D

Where the banks are low, this is not, however, so necessary,as in higher ones, as the settling is always more or lessaccording to their height ; in low banks it will of course bevery little. In the making of such embankments, it is scarcelypossible to lay down any general rule in regard to their size ordimensions, as these must be directed by situation and circum-stances, under the management of an expert engineer. Incases where the embankment to be formed is to exclude thesea from a piece of low marshy ground, over which it onlyflows at spring-tides, the work is easy, and capable of beingaccomplished at no great expense. But where it is intendedto reclaim a portion of land which is covered every tide, insome bay or creek, or on the sides or windings of some largeriver in which the tide ebbs and flows, the business will be insome degree more difficult, according to the depth and rapi-dity of the current of the water. And where it is proposedto exclude the sea from some exposed situation at the mouthof a river, or in a bay, or inlet, which is uncovered everytide, the operation will be the most difficult and expensive ofall, according as it is exposed to prevalent winds, and thedepth of the water to be resisted. Each of these situations,therefore, requires a different method of management.

The business of embanking against the sea, when at anyconsiderable distance within high-water mark, is not only themost tedious, but at the same time the most difficult; as, whenthe materials are not very good and the work not well per-formed, the force of the water at every flowing of the tide"will quickly undo all that has been effected, especially if thesoil be of a sandy nature, as is often the case in such situations.If it be a strong clay, as is sometimes the case in marshyplaces, there will be the less risk of its being washed away.In sandy situations it has been advised by some to lay bun-dles of straw or reeds well fastened down, or any other impe-diment, to hinder the soil from being carried away by theebbing tide. Where a sufficient supply of good strong turfcannot be had, other expedients may be tried : but where suchturf can be provided, as is the case in most marshy situations,and where the embankment required is not to exceed theheight of four or five feet, it is best to finish the slope withgood turf as expeditiously as possible, as the work proceeds ;that is, supposing the length of 30, 40, or 50 feet or yards ofit can be completed in a tide, it is better to finish that lengthto its intended height, than to trace out or begin a greaterextent than can be finished before the tide returns, by whicha great deal of the soil might be carried away, and much otthe work demolished, which is not so likely to be the casewhen the slope is finished. Turf which contains the rootsof bent or rushes is very good for this use.

In commencing a work of this kind, however, the firstthing to be done is to strike out the intended line of it, settingout the breadth at the base, also the width of the excavationor trench to be made in the inside, from which most of thematerials that compose the bank are to be taken : this trenchserving also as a drain to keep the grounds within dry. Thereshould also be trunks or sluices at different parts of it, to shutof themselves against any external water, and to open whenthe tide ebbs, to let out any water from within. The widthof it should be proportioned to the quantity of materialsrequired from it, for the raising of the embankment, as eight,ten, or fifteen feet wide, and three or four feet deep, leavinga berme, or space, between the edge of the trench and theinner bottom of the embankment. If the soil be strong, onefoot or eighteen inches will be sufficient for this purpose ; butif loose or sandy, three or four feet at least will be required.The more easy and gradual the external slope is made, theless sudden the resistance against the sea will be, as has beenseen above, and of course the embankment be less liable to

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