19:^7] 



FA KM KRS' R K(iiSTE II. 



437 



datioii be injured, it requires to be repaired vvitli 

 P'Uiill stones thrown loosely uujiiinst the bottom ol 

 i,. l\' any of the I'acinif stones be displaced or 

 Iooscm'^nI, they are to be replaced with others ; or il 

 the turl" which hinds theni at the (op be disturbed, 

 the torn p irt should be cut out square vvitli tlie 

 suriiice, ami be conij)ieiely filled up with fresh 

 turl. 



Althouixh instances iliay occur where the cut- 

 tinir iliroiiijh a sand bed, or the erecUng of a bar- 

 rier, may be employed to ad^'antatre in protecting 

 river banks, yet, in most cases, the sheathing of 

 the whole of the injured part of the bank with 

 Ftones is preii;rable lo every otiier species of de- 

 ience. In most cases it is. hardly possible to erect 

 a single barrier so as to defend the whole of the in- 

 jured bank, without a reirular succession of them 

 placed along tnc damaged part, so that they throw 

 or ward off tiie water li'om one to the other, until 

 the current has passed, or gained the straight 

 course of tlie stn'ain; and. even in this case they 

 cannot be so eliect.ual as sheathing the whole of 

 the injured bank; for let the barrier be ever so ju- 

 diciously placed, the water is apt to make a whirl 

 behind it, which not only endangers the foundation, 

 but scoop.? out a hole in the solid bank mimediate- 

 ]y below, which it is impossible to hinder without 

 placing them very near each other, the expense of 

 which would be greater than sheathing the whole 

 angle of the injured bank with stones. If we care- 

 fully observe the banks of rivers, we shall have no 

 difficulty in remarking that the ravages are always 

 greatest where the banks are perpendicular to a 



pretty considerable heiirht above the ordinary sur- 

 face of the water, and seldom at those places 

 where the banks shelve down gradually towards 

 the water edge; lor when tlic water is swollen to 

 a gieat height by rains, and ruits with a rapidity 

 greater than usual, it strikes violently against the 

 per|)e!!dicular banks, undermining them, and car- 

 rying olf prodigioiis quantities ol their materials^ 

 but when the river rises to any consideralile height, 

 it ijently glides along the suriiice of those j)arts of 

 the baidi that shelve gradually downwards to the 

 water-edge, passing along without doing scarcely 

 any datnage at all. 



These are facts which no one who lias bestow- 

 ed the least attention upon this subject can fail to 

 have observed; and they clearly point out, that the 

 first and most necessary step toivards a cure is, to 

 level down the edge of the bank next the water, 

 ixiving it a regular slope lo the surface of the water 

 at the driest lime of the year. This operation 

 ouixht to be performed as early in the spring as 

 possible, and the slope should he either immediate- 

 ly covered with turf, or, if the turf cannot be easi- 

 ly had, it should be sown very thick with the seeds 

 ol' some small mat-rooted <>:rass — the creeping 

 meadow-grass, (poa reptaas,) is a proper grass lor 

 this purpose. The bu.uk being thus prepared, and 

 level with the surlace of the water in dry seasons, 

 tlie breast of the bank below the water should be 

 filled with stones, carefully thrown in. till they be 

 near the surface of the water, and Ibrm the same 

 slope irom the bottom of the river as the bank 

 above, as at a in figure 6. Stones collected on tlie 



Fipr. 6. 



surface of cultivated land are best for this purpose; 

 but where thej"- cannot be obtained, any kind may 

 be used, provided they are broken, next the wa- 

 ter, to the size of a man's hand. The smoother 

 the sides of water-courses are made, whatever the 

 materials are, the current will glide more easily 

 along without being ruffled; where there is no re- 

 sistance there can be no friction. 



Where the current is not too violent, a small 

 portion of earth mixed with gravel ought to be 

 thrown in with the last layer of stones next the 

 water-edge a, which will not only fill up the crevi- 

 ces, but it' a lew aquatic plants be planted near the 

 water-edge, they will sooner strike root among the 

 stones. For example, the water spiderwort will 

 grow in water four feet deep, and the roots of the 

 yellow-flowered water iris form so strong and com- 

 pact a covering upon the surface of the soil on 

 which it grows, as to bealinost impregnable to the 

 action of water. This plant has another advan- 

 tage attending it, that it grows on a firm bottom, 

 and chiefly delights in running water. 



The sheathing or protecting of river sides with 

 small stones is so very simple in itself, that where 

 stones are to be had there is not the least difficulty 

 in preserving their banks at a trifling expense, pro- 



vided the injured part be immediately filled. In- 

 stead of putting a few cart-loads in heaps at ran- 

 dom into the affected place, they ought to be laid 

 regularly along the afl'ected part ; for, in the first 

 case, they only serve to break the current, forming 

 [)arlial walerlialls where there were none, whereby 

 the injury is increased instead of being diminished; 

 but, in the latter case, the bank will be secured. 

 Even in districts where stones are not to be had, 

 half the ravages committed by water-courses 

 windiniT through low grounds might be prevented 

 by timely and judiciously keeping down the per- 

 pendicular banks, and sowin<; or planting the slopes 

 with small-rooted aquatic plants, such as bog reeds, 

 sedges, water spiderwort, rushes, and seeds of any 

 kind of plants which are known to thrive in £md 

 near water. 



IJelbre any work of this nature can be prudent- 

 ly undertaken, the given site or subject of improve- 

 ment should be maturely studied, in order to dis- 

 cern the true method of procedure, especially if the 

 river be the boundary between two proprietors; for 

 althongh every man has a right to defend his pro- 

 perty, it does not follow that because the one pro- 

 prietors lands are damaged, works should be run 

 out into the river to the injury of the lands on the 



