1838] 



FARMERS' REGISTER 



19 



ON EMBANKMENTS. 



Introduction. 



The object of these introduciory ohservhtions 

 is, to show the. iiuporttuice, ol" enib;iiil<ni(Mits, in 

 all situations vvhere practicable, by poiniinuj out 

 (headvantaires to be ;;raiiieLl — the losses sustained 

 by want, ol" i hem — the causes that produce these 

 losses — and the necessity and means oi' preventing 

 them. 



The object and advanlafjes of embanking are 

 two-told: — First, to defend and protect uselnl 

 land, exposed to encroachment from the sea and 

 from rivers, where the water, in high tides, and in | 

 lime of lloods, commits ravages upon the haid<s, ' 

 by undermining and carryinir away the earth and i 

 soil, and by overflowing and inundating the low } 

 ground adjacent. Seamdiy, to reclann from the I 

 sea, aiul from large rivers, an acquisition of ground, j 

 where the same may be gained withoiU luture j 

 rsk, and at an exfiense to be repaid by the value I 

 of the land so acquired. | 



Every one knows, that in Holland, the works i 

 of this kind that have been accomplished are al- | 

 most incredible; and are a |)roof of what human : 

 industry is capaple, when its exertions are called j 

 into action, and when self-protection and interest i 

 are the objects in view. ! 



In England, also, the valuable territory that I 

 has been acquired by means of embanking, is' 

 well known; particularly in the fens and low- j 

 lands of Lincolnshire, CambridgeshiVe, Yorkshn'e. [ 

 Cheshire, &c. and lately in Wales. In these, { 

 and in several other English districts, some hun- 

 dred thousands of acres have been recovered from 

 the sea, and from rivers. 



In Scotlatid, little has yet been acquired from 

 the sea by embankment; but a great deal has 

 been dope in preventing inundation, and by pro- 

 tectins useful land from the influx of high tides, 

 and from the overflowing and ravaijes of large 

 rivers. On the western coast of Scotland, and in 

 the Hebridean Isles, some acquisitions have al- 

 ready been made; but it is calculated, that. above 

 20,000 acres still remain to he reclaimed from the 

 sea; and along the shores of the whole northern 

 part of the island, in the bays, atid at the entrance 

 of large rivers, and likewise by the side of lakes, 

 immense tracts still remain under the power of 

 water. There is reason also to believe, that ma- 

 ny thousand acres in the bays of VVigton, Kin- 

 cardine, Aberlady, Kirkcudbright, &c. could be 

 embanked at a reasonable expense. It may be 

 farther noticed, that there is scarcely a river in all 

 the country, that flows ihrouffh flat land, which, 

 for want of proper embankments, does not com- 

 mit, every season, great devastations upon its 

 banks, either rendering large tracts unproductive, 

 or sweeping away the harvest thev have reared. 

 On the rivers Forth, Tay, Spey,"Don, Beauly, 

 Cree, Nith, Carron, and seveml others of inferior 

 note, many thousand acres have already been re- 

 covered and protected; but much remains to be 

 done in the same way, as will be more particularly 

 noticed in the seciuel. * 



Land, situated on the borders of rivers, is ex- 



* The author, not bein^ so well acquainted with the 

 bays and shores of the English coast, does not take 

 into calculation what may be veclairued bv embank- 

 ments in that part of the kingdom. 



posed to injury from them, in several ways: by 

 the banks being broke down, and the soil carried 

 away; the cp>p injin-ed. and sometimes swept oil" 

 in time of floods; and from the rivers, when swell- 

 ed with rain, flowinu back into the chatmels and 

 streams that conduct the water trom the upper 

 irrounds into them, these smaller streams are also 

 made to overflow their banks, and do similar in- 

 jury. From the nature of its soil, its situation 

 and climate, such land is more |)roductivethan any 

 other. To secure its produce, therelbre, is of the 

 firs) importance. 



From the general advantages attending cm- 

 bardunents, it seems just to conclude, that in a 

 country like Britain, whose inhabitants are re- 

 mnrkablefor intelligence, and for their spirit of en- 

 ter[)rise, and where agricultural improvements 

 have attracted such general attention, embank- 

 rnenis, on a large and comprehensive scale, would 

 no longer remain neglected; especially when so 

 great an acquisition might, by their means, be 

 added to the productive territory of the country. 



Notwithstanding the general indolence, and 

 seeming aversion that appears, respecting the ac- 

 quisition of land that might be gained by embank- 

 ing; yet there are many intelligent and public- 

 spirited individua's in both parts of the kingdom, 

 possessing property capable ol' this improvement, 

 who are fiiliy sensible of its advantages, and have 

 already had the advice of profi'ssiunal men res- 

 pecting if. By this means, they can (brm a judg- 

 ment whether the acquiring a large addition to 

 •heir estates in ths manner, is an object of pru- 

 dence, or one adequate to the expense attend- 

 ing it. 



In attempting to mark out the causes of this gen- 

 eral nerjlect or indolence, it is impossible to join 

 with some writers, who' endeavor to trace it to the 

 facility with which this country has always ob- 

 tained supples from abroad; or to any general im- 

 pression of security which may have prevailed in 

 that respect. There is no instance in which in- 

 dividuals were ever found to be guided by such 

 general an.l distant considerations of policy in 

 their private conduct. Every man is sufliciently 

 anxious to secure the harvest of his labor, and to 

 protect his lands from encroachment; as well as 

 readily disposed to adopt any measure, that off'ers 

 a fiiir prospect of territorial acquisition ; and it is 

 folly to imaijine, that his endeavors will, in the 

 smallest degree, be increased by any impres- 

 sion of what the country mi<rhf either sufl'er Ji-om 

 his neiiliirence, or ffain by his enterprise. 



Perhaps a more immediate cause of the inatten- 

 tion to embankments may be found in the gene- 

 ral prosperity of our manufactures and commerce, 

 which, by affording a quicker return of pmili than 

 any other branch of industry, have hitherto at- 

 tracted the bulk of the national capital. For, 

 when we consider the nreai expense, and in some 

 cases hazard, that attends embankmentson an ex- 

 tensive scale, and particularly those against the 

 sea. there can be no doubt that a want of capital 

 must have operated more severely against this, 

 than any other branch of rural improvement. At 

 the same time, a irreat deal must be attributed to 

 the inattention of landed individuals to iheir pro- 

 perty; to a narrow jealousy of the prosperity of 

 tenants ; and to a want ol co-o[)eraiiun among 

 adjoininjr proprietors, arisiiifj from of;posite views 

 of interest, or difi'erent feelings of enterpise. 



