NORTH SEA FISHERIES 25 



its' spire would be seen. Just below the 

 Dogger are the Sole and Silver Pits, where 

 we again run into deeper water of 50 

 fathoms. With the exception of these 

 pits the bottom is again shallow and 

 sandy down to the Straits of Dover. If 

 we average these soundings we find the 

 average depth of the North Sea is only 

 about 350 feet. The seabed is almost 

 flat, so that if the bottom were raised 

 400 feet we should have a great plain 

 joining. England to the Continent, a land 

 watered by great rivers. The Rhine, Elbe, 

 Ouse, Trent would continue a meandering 

 journey to the northern depths, the Dogger 

 Bank would be a plateau of about 300 

 feet high, the whole would probably 

 be of a great fertility and capable of sup- 

 porting a large population. 



Examination of the sands on the East 

 Coast of Britain will give an idea of the 

 sea bottom of this area. It will Be found 

 that quartz, mica, and felspar predominate, 

 but that there are many varieties of other 

 minerals. In the more northern and 

 deeper waters the sand gives place to a 

 mud containing a large percentage of the 



