98 A RECENT LANDSLIP ON JORDAN CLIFF. 



sea just at this spot, as it would doubtless take some time to 

 destroy a block of 400 to 500 cubic feet. It must, therefore, 

 have taken a long time for sufficient slipping of the whole mass 

 to have taken place to cause the slip of May last at the top. 



Reverting again to the explanation I have suggested (which 

 would not, of course, apply to all cases) of some of the terraced 

 slopes that we see on the sides of hills inland, let us go back to 

 the time when a stream began to cut its way through the surface 

 of a raised mass of land, which was the way in which our valleys 

 began to be formed, and had got sufficiently far down to produce 

 a cliff on each side of 20 or 30 feet high. Falls would take place 

 and be gradually swept away by the stream, which would have 

 much the same action on the parts it touched as the sea on 

 Jordan Cliff, with a similar result if the strata were similar, 

 producing eventually by a series of landslips a set of little 

 terraces, as in the diagram. 



Probably, however, the work would be slower, and a time 

 would come when it would almost cease, when the level of the 

 stream had descended so far that it became sluggish and exer- 

 cised very little denuding action. 



The process being slower, more time would be allowed for the 

 smoothing action of other influences, such as rain, wind, animals, 

 worms, and even cultivation, which might find its terraces ready- 

 made and only a little rough. The result would be that the 

 terraces would be smoother, and all cracks would entirely 

 disappear by the time that all were formed, and on most hills 

 sheep or other animals are pastured, which would very materially 

 help the smoothing process. It will be noticed that, as a rule, 

 on these little landslips on Jordan Cliff the original surface soil 

 is not much disturbed, which would be better for the cultivation 

 than if the good soil had been washed away. It has often struck 

 me that in many of the hill terraces one sees elsewhere there is 

 no regularity, but they go up and down and end, and a fresh one 

 begins, very much as is the case on Jordan Cliff, where the cause 

 is clear. Even here, where very insufficient time is allowed for 

 the purpose, it is wonderful how smooth some of the terraces 



