20 



F A R iM E R S' REGISTER. 



[No. 1 



It is, however, to be hoped, that as ajsrricuhure 

 is every day becomino; a more favorite object oi' 

 pursuit — that as proprietors are now in (genera! 

 hestou'ing more attention to the improvement ol 

 their estates thnn Ibrmerly, and of course imhi..- 

 in^ more just ideas of thiniis, that the sysiem ol 

 embankment will jie as seneraliy adopted, as, 

 from its importance, it merits. 



If a law to iCiiulate common drainage should 

 ever come under the consideration of the legisla- 

 ture, as has been pointed out and recommended in 

 the Section on 'Obstacles to Draining;' one, repect- 

 jng general embankments, would also be an object 

 of no less importance to their nation. 



In the course of this Treatise, various situations 

 will be mentioned, both where successful embank- 

 ments have been made, and where others are 

 practicable; with such directions for executing the 

 difi'erent kinds of sea-c/vVres and water-banks.'* as 

 maybe applicable to them; and such drawings, 

 including plans and sections, as will explain their 

 form and construction, according to the situation, 

 the extent of ground they are to delend, and the 

 pressure of water they are required to resist. 



PART I. 



EMBAKKMKNTS ON SEA-SHORES. 

 SECTION I. 



On defendmg shores from the encroachment of the 

 sea; and protecting land upon the coast from in- 

 undation by the overflowing of high tides. 



Embankments, or (perhaps more properly) 

 bulwarks, for preventing encroachments by the 

 pea, are, in most cases, both difficult and ex- 

 pensive in the execution, and often precarious 

 m point of permanency. The power of water, 

 when violently agitated, is not easily resisted; and 

 when the sea is to be contended with, the means 

 for repelling it must be of the strongest and most 

 effectual kind. Barriers for this purpose require 

 to be constructed with care and stability; as many 

 circumstances occur to obstruct their execution, 

 and to overturn the work when completed. 



The sea may commit injury upon the land in 

 two ways : — By breaking clown and encroachiuir 

 upon the coast, when too perpendicularly elevated 

 above its level, and composed of loose, soft, and 

 penetrable materials; and, by overflowing land 

 upon the shore, which, from its low situation, is 

 liable to be inundated by high tides. 



It is necessary, therefore^ in the first place, to 

 point out the proper modes of guarding against, and 

 protecting from its ravages', such parts of the 

 coast where the soil is valuable, and where it is 

 carried away or injured by the sea at high tides. 



That water, when violently agitated, can more 

 easily be resisted, by yielding gently to its influ- 

 ence, than by directly opposing its impulse, is so far 

 consistent with truth, that it should always be 

 kept in view, in every operation, where thatpovv- 

 erliil agent is to be managed. According to this 



* Diatinctive terms, as used in Scotland. In Eng;- 

 land, all go under the general name of Embankments. 



principle, it happens, that where the beach is low, 

 the sea is generally (ijtind rather to recede from 

 the land, than to encroach upon it, and, on the 

 contrary, wheie the shore is steep, the sea makes 

 encroachments upon the loud, more or less, accord- 

 ing to the nature of the bnnier that opposes it.. 

 Rock may remain im[)eneirable lor ages; and al- 

 though immense masses are sometimes overturn- 

 ed by the i'ury of extraordinary tides, and the in- 

 cessant beating of the waves against it, yet the 

 proirrcss, in such cases, is slow and scarcely per- 

 ceptible. But, where the sea is bounded by per- 

 pendicular clifis of clay, or penetrable mould, in- 

 termixed with loose stones, its ravages are more 

 rapid, and the effect of one furious tide often oc- 

 casions very serious damage. This is [jarlicularly 

 the case, with that part of' the shore on the Frith 

 of Forth, both below and above Newhaven, and 

 to the east of Leith. The artificial barriers, 

 both of stone, and those of wood and stone, that 

 have been erected at these places, have failed to 

 provide security, by their being too perpendicular- 

 ly constructed, and improperly founded. The 

 general mode that has hitherto been attempted, to 

 stop the progress of encroachment, in these and in 

 similar cases, is, to construct a bulwark of stone, 

 in front of the bank, laying the s'ones above one 

 another, to the height of tiie adjoining surface, ag 

 carefully as possible, and, forming such a elope, 

 as to give them security. This bulwark is liable 

 to be deranged, and often destroyed, by one or 

 ofherof the following circumstances, or by a com- 

 bination of the whole. First, where property is 

 divided, a^d when one individual Ibrlifies his stiare, 

 and those on one orboth sides of him neglect to 

 do the same, the bulwark is thus exposed, at one 

 or both ends, and the fury of the sea acting upon 

 it at these open, unguarded points, soon brings it 

 to destruction. Secondly, where this may not be 

 the case, and the bulwark may extend along the 

 whole line of exposed bank, the waves, when the 

 sea is violenil}' agitated, ascend the inclined plane, 

 and as they return with still greater force, this body 

 of water, rushing over the stones like a cascade, 

 forcibly displaces them, and the whole bulwark is 

 m time hurled down. Thirdly, the water thrown 

 up, finds its way between the stones and the bank 

 at top, at the place where they unite, and there 

 scoops out the earth from behind them, by which 

 means, the stones, thus exposed, are soon brought 

 down by the afritation of the tide, and dashing of 

 the waves. In order, therefore, to render such 

 kinds of bulwark invulnenible, the base should be 

 broader, the slope greater, and the building should 

 be so high, as to be above the reach of any extra- 

 ordinary tide. And, as a further security to the 

 bulwark, the most effectual expedient that can be 

 adopted is, to drive piles into the shore in front of 

 it, to break the force of the waves. Of the effi- 

 cacy of this barrier, a very strong example is 

 given by Mr. Beatson, in his 'Observations on Em- 

 bankments:' — "Some years ago," he says, " when 

 I was on duty as an engineer at a fort near Ports- 

 mouth, built on a point of land much exposed to 

 the sea, the waves made such havoc, that the 

 walls on that side were constantly giving way, 

 although built in the most substantial manner, and 

 having bulwarks of large heavy stones besides, 

 to protect the foundation; however, all would not 

 do — those bulwarks were soon knocked to pieces, 

 and several times the wall itself. At length, it 



