Natural History. 103 



" Danish " terminals. The Saxons seem to have used their 

 terminals for any island, whether surrounded by the sea or by 

 fresh water. 



The Danes, however, used the terminals nea and ney to 

 signify land surrounded by the sea. Their word for an island 

 surrounded by fresh water was holme. 



It must not be forgotten that the invasion of this country 

 by the Saxons and Danes were as follows : 



The Jutes about A.D. 449. 



The Saxons about A.D. 477 to 495. 



The Danes about 790 to A.D. 1013. 



The names of those islands were therefore given not earlier 

 than A.D. 449 or later than A.D. 1013, and the importance 

 of that question consists in the fact that in those times the 

 places in question were islands surrounded by the sea. 



While I am dealing with the names of places, I may here 

 mention two " bars " or " deltas " which exist in the Wash, 

 one starting at King's Lynn and running due east to Spalding, 

 and then running due north from Spalding and ending at 

 Sibsey and Wainfleet ; and the other starting at Skegness and 

 running due north to Great Grimsby. 



I may dismiss the latter at once by saying that it is formed 

 by the sandhills which are blown up from the bed of the Wash 

 and so keep out the sea, and it has no bearing on my subject. 



The former is however of vital importance. 



In order to deal with this part of my subject, I may mention 

 that the sea flows up every tidal stream twice in about every 

 26 hours. At every influx of the sea, a time comes when the 

 fresh water running to the sea and the sea water in the river 

 are In equilibria. When that event happens, the solid matter 

 held in solution instantly begins to sink to the bottom, the 

 heavier particles first and the lighter ones afterwards. As this 

 usually happens about the same place, a bar gradually forms 

 which in time becomes a " delta." 



These deltas are sometimes so important that cities are 

 built upon them, e.g. Calcutta, at the mouth of the Ganges. 



Into the south and west sides of the Wash an unusual 

 number of rivers flow the Ouse, the Cam, the Nene, the 

 Welland, the Glen, the Guash, the Slea, the Witham, and the 

 Bain, flow within a short distance either directly into the 

 Wash or into rivers which flow there, the result of which has 

 been that the Wash has for many thousands of years been 

 gradually silted up ; and, as the rivers have been gradually 



