1S3S.] 



F A R JNl E K S ' K E G I S i' E R , 



23 



thrown out by the sea. In the fi'ilhs above men- 

 tioned, ami at the eiitrrince of other lartre rivers, 

 wiiose estuaries! are wide, and in which the tide 

 eblis and flows, immense tracts arc left hare at 

 low water, and where the land that mitrht be 

 iXained would amply renay the expense of em- 

 hankins^ it. The nioulh of the South Esk, in the 

 Bay of iVIonlrose, deserves particularly to be men- 

 tioned, as one of the mo.st extensive and practica- 

 ble instances of this kind. Indeed, this tract was 

 undertaken to be embanked by Dutchmen, many 

 year? aixo; but owinsr to a dispute amonp'st the 

 proprietors, rcspectin<; their riixhls and boundaries, 

 the undertakinir was abandoned. On the other 

 rivers that have been mentioned, much has alrea- 

 dy been done, and there is now land let at five 

 pounds sterling per acre, that, not many years 

 ago, was covered to a considerable depth with 

 water. 



At the mouth of the Eden near St. Andrews, 

 much land has, of late years, been reclaimed; and 

 much may still be gained there, by exte iding 

 these embankments, on a stronger scale, farther 

 into the tide-way. 



Where it is intended to reclaim a piece of land 

 that is covered every tide, either in a bay of the 

 sea, or on the side of a large river, where the tide 

 ebbs and flows, the undertaking will be more or 

 less ditficult, according to the depth of water, ra- 

 pidity of the current, and prevalence of the winds 

 in that quarter. Embanking, so as to exclude 

 the sea in these situations, will also be more or 

 less tedious and expensive, according to the nature 

 of the materials of which the beach is composed, 

 whether the soil is of a sandy or loose texture, 

 which is most frequently the case; or of a clayey 

 substance, where there will be less labor in its 

 construction, and more certainty of its remaining 

 secure. 



Where the materials on the spot, of which the 

 bank is to be formed, are of a sandy consistence, 

 it is absolutely necessary to face it with stone on 

 the side next the sea; otherwise, the impression of 

 the waves would soon make breaches in it, and 

 overturn the whole, in the course of a few hiiih 

 tides. It is necessary to give it a very considera- 

 ble slope, and, at the foundation, to have the 

 stones bedded and laid so that they bind well to- 

 gether. The height of the embankment should^ 

 in all cases, be two feet more than that of the 

 highest tide. Fig. 3 of plate No. 1. represents 

 the section of an embankment of this kind. 



Where the materials of which the bank is 

 formed are of a clayey or adhesive nature, strong 

 turf may answer the purpose of facing the bani<^ 

 and these should be well beat and pinned down as 

 soon as laid. With regard to laying the turf, Mr. 

 Beatson observes— "The inside slope should also 

 be faced with turf, which may be laid with the 

 green side downwards, as in building any com- 

 mon sod wall. Some expert sodders can finish 

 this kind of work extremely neat, bv setting the 

 sod on edge, according to the slope intended To be 

 given, and with proper mallels and beetles, they 

 ram the earth hard behind, which consolidates the 

 work as it advances, and tends very much to its 

 durability. When the first or lower course is fin- 

 ished, they pare the upper edge of the sods with 

 a sharp knife, quite even, by laving a rule to 

 them, and then they ^o on with the second 

 course, which they finish m the same manner, 



and so proceed till the whole height is completed? 

 which, when finished pro[)erly, looks v(<ry f)eanti- 

 ful and smooth, not a joint between the turfs be- 

 ing seen." 



"If turf is to be used in coverinij the outside 

 slope, it must all be laid with the grass uppermost, 

 and well beaten down with a flat sod beetle made 

 for (hat purpose; and for their better security, it 

 may be proper to drive a small stake of about 

 eii/liteen inches long, or more, through every sod. 

 The sods for this purpose should at first be caie- 

 fully taken up, and traced by a line, all of the 

 same breadth, and their edges cut as even as pos- 

 sible, that they may make the closer joints., which 

 will tend very much to their security till they 

 glow properly together." 



In some sandy shores, embankments may be 

 made entirely of wicker-work. Three or four 

 rows may be made, of different heights, and the 

 intervals betwixt them filled with brushwood, 

 furze, &c., forming a slope towards the water, as 

 shown by FifT. 4. in plate No. 1. These materials 

 would collect and retain the sand, as the tide pass- 

 ed through; and this acciimnlating and consolida- 

 ting, would in time rise in height, so as to exclude 

 the influx of the tide at all times'. 



When the sea is found to encroach upon a low 

 shore, it will be proper, before attempting to exe- 

 cute any regular embankment, to make a careful 

 survey of the coast which is injured, in order to 

 ascertain if there be any local circumstances that 

 can help to raise a natural barrier against the en- 

 croachment. Every person must have observed, 

 that in many places the sea is continually stirring 

 up, and driving against the coast, quantities of 

 sand and other materials, which either remain, 

 and serve to form either small hills or flat downs; 

 or, are carried back by the ebbing of the same 

 tide which brought them. In general, where the 

 materials are of a more adhesive and solid nature, 

 as shells, plants or slime, they rest and accumu- 

 late, and raise the land above the danger of any 

 encroachment from the sea. But where the shore 

 consists entirely of sand, whatever quantities may 

 be pushed Ibrward ar each tide, are immediately 

 dispersed to and fro by the winds, and the shore 

 remains open and exposed to every high swell of 

 the sea. In such a case, however, as this, means 

 may easily be adopted lor collecting and fixing the 

 flying particles of sand; and it is certainly proper 

 to prefer so economical an expedient, to an expen- 

 sive reflular embankment. 



From an account of a work of this kind,* per- 

 formed upon the estate of the Earl of Ashburn- 

 ham, at JBembrey in the county of Caermarthen, 

 useful infortnation may be obtained of the manner 

 in which such bulwarks ouirlit to be raised. 



Mr. Tatlow, who suggested the expedient in 

 this case, and carried it into execution, remarks, 

 that for many years the sea had been making en- 

 croachments; "and, particularly, in October 1795, 

 had broke in and covered manj' hundred acres, 

 damaged the houses, buildings, stack-yards, and 

 gardens; and it was the general opinion, that a 

 regular embankment must be formed, which would 

 cost some thousand pounds, the Earl having sev- 

 eral miles of coast." — The view," he proceeds, 

 "that I first took was, upon a very windy day, 

 and the shore an entire sand, which extended at 



* Communications to the Board. 



