1S37J 



FARMERS' Ji E C; I S T E R 



435 



plain, let us suppose the current of a straight part of 

 the river a a (fiir. 3.) to be interrupted by a iarije 

 stone, i)r the root of a tree brou<i:ht down and lodijed 

 by a Hood at 6. This, in rivers in poneral, is ihe 

 cause of mischief Tlirough this triHiii<); incident, 

 the current loses its direct course ; lor when the 

 flood falls to the level of the ohslniction, the water 

 becomes contined in that part, its height above the 

 obstruction is conse(]ueiitly increased, an<l its cur- 

 rent opposite anil below it not only accelerated, 

 but irently turned Irom its direct course towards 

 ihe opposite bank of i;s natural channel, which, if 

 it be of an earthy matter, becomes undermined, 

 and the upper part of the bank fUls down, and is 

 carried away by succeedinir floods. What tends 

 to increase the evil, is the channel immediately be- 

 low the obstruction, as at c, becoming occupied, in 

 minor floods, with comparatively stagnant water. 

 It is, in consequence, filled up with sediment there 

 deposited, whereby an additional weiijjht of water 

 is thrown on the ojiposite bank, which, if the in- 

 creasing cause of mischief be not soon removed, 



will, in a very short time, be greatly torn away ; 

 and, in a few years, a bend at (Z will be scooped 

 out in the grounds of tht; proprietor A, with a cor- 

 res|)on<iintr l)auk of sand, united vvilii and becom- 

 iuir 'he property of Ihe proprietor 1). If the lands 

 of B are eiiually valuable with those of his oj)po- 

 site neighbor, he has no reason tor cxultini>: in his 

 iuL'rease of territory ; lor while the current is leav- 

 inijhim, perhaps, a worthless sand-bank at c, it is 

 scooping out a bay at c, and giving to his neigh- 

 bor an increasing territory at/;, thus a mutual loss 

 of lands is incurred; and the evil is constantly in- 

 creasinir, until the banks are protected, or the cur- 

 rent is restrained, and directed into its original 

 channel. In this view of the subject, it is evident 

 that there are several remedies for the evil. The 

 one is to sheath the sides of the injured banks of 

 the bays d and e with stones until they Ibrm a slope 

 of lorty-five degrees, which will resist the circuit- 

 ous current; and the river should be alJowed to re- 

 mam in its crooked state. This is the most per- 

 manent of all remedies; and where stones are 



Fig. 4. 



plentiful, it ought never to he neo;]ectcd. Another 

 is, to erect a pier or jetty, as at the point g in fiir- 

 ure 4, to ward ofl' the force of the current from the 

 bank d, and direct it straight, with the intention of 

 preventing more mischief, and briuiring back the 

 course of the river to its original straightness. 

 The diverting of the current may frequently be 

 accomplished at a comparatively small expense, 

 and its efl^ects be rendered permanent; lor it is plain, 

 that if the accidental obstruction mentioned had 

 been timely removed, no bad effect would have 

 ensued, as the river would have continued its di- 

 rect current. In many cases, by timely and judi- 

 ciously placing in a sunikir manner an obstruction 

 proportioned to the magnitude of the power to be 

 counteracted, the like effect might be produced. 



Thus, if in the case supposed, the river-guide 

 above mentioned were to be erected by the propri- 

 etor A, and to be inclined towards the stream in a 

 degree proportioned to the rapidity of the current, 

 not only the banks A A would be defended, in a 

 great deiiree, trom the action of the water, but the 

 sand bed c (figure 3) v/oukl be carried away, and 

 its materials deposited in the bay d, and thus, in a 

 twofold way, be refilled and brought back to its 

 original state. 



And further, if, when the gravel bank c is remo- 

 ved, the profirietor B were to erect a similar barrier 

 at the point /, the sand bank /would, in like man- 

 ner, be carried off, the bay c be returned to its 

 former proprietor, and the straight course of the 

 river be nearly regained, when The barrier ought 

 to be removed, whether belonging to one or more 

 proprietors, they all having a general interest in 

 directing the river which separates their properties 

 into a straight course, or keeping it in its natural 

 channel. 



In protecting river sides, there are certain princi- 

 ples and particulars of practice to be observed. 

 The position of the barrier should be ?uch as to 

 produce the desired effect, with the least possible 



resistance; for the current, of a river, as the waves 

 of the sea, should be subdued by stratagem rath- 

 er than by force — resistance serves only to increase 

 their fury. A wave falling on a flat shore seems 

 to die without a struggle, while one that is stem- 

 med by an abrupt rock or bank, strikes with ten- 

 Ibid force and breaks in pieces. In like manner, 

 a rapid river will glide smoothly along the sides of 

 an even bank, though it may somewhat deviate 

 from the direct course, without perceptibly disturb- 

 ing the current or injuring the banks that direct it, 

 even though they are merely of turf; but when a 

 strong current meets with an abrupt projecting or 

 sharp bend in its channel, its fury is increased, and 

 stones are sometimes hardly sufficient to resist its 

 force. Hence, in erecting a barrier with this inten- 

 tion, it should always be made to unite evenly with 

 Ihe natural bank of the river, v\ith a smooth hollow 

 curve, that the fall of the current may not be 

 checked. The outer or lower end of the barrier 

 should be directed in a line with the straight part 

 of tlie bank below the bay, which, in most cases, 

 if carried far enough down the river, prevents the 

 stream from doubling the end, and falling back in- 

 to the bay; for, in cases of this nature, the current 

 of a flood and that of low water take different 

 courses, according to their different heights and 

 strenirth. The one rushes f^jrward in the line re- 

 quired, and the other, unable to surmount the ob- 

 struction for want of strength, at the point of the 

 barrier, doubles it, and falls back into the bay with 

 an accelerated current, directed, perhaps, straight 

 to the injured bank, which may thus increase, in- 

 stead of preventing the injury. To remedy this 

 bad effect, and to guide the current at all seasons 

 into the same channel, it is sometimes necessary, 

 where it can be conveniently done, to cut a chan- 

 nel, through Ihe obstructing sand-bank, deep 

 enough to admit the stream at low water. By this 

 procedure, although the bay d should not be so 

 completely filled u"p, yet the advantacje of putting 



