30 



FARMERS- R ]<; G ! S T E R 



[No. 1 



of its being turbulent, the finst and most obvious 

 thitijr to be done, ip to leniove al! heaps of mud. 

 eiones, trees, or bushes, which are collected in the 

 chaiuiel, and obstruct the course of the wafer. 



At those places wliere the river encroaches, f!ie 

 nie/ans wliich may be used to delend the banks are 

 various, iin some instances, bulwarks of stone, 

 laid re,a;alarly in wood.m ['ranges, have been raised; 

 but ihoucrh such wooden frames facilitate the con- 

 >.siruction of the work, fhey prove uhimately inju- 

 rious to it; for in conse(|uence of heins alternatoiv 

 W(U and dry, they soon rot and fr'we way, ieavinjy 

 wide yaps, lhrou<xh wiiich the water enters, and 

 breaks up the embankment. In some places, 

 iarije rilopinc;^ pauis, or structures of loose s?ones, 

 have l)een employed; but where the exteni of the 

 bank to be defended is jjreal, or limber scarce, such 

 a bulwark is expensive, while it is at best only 

 temporary. 



Auolher method has been rfcommended by Dr. 

 Walker, in his 'Economical History of ihe He- 

 brides.' as preferable to either of these: — "Form 

 a siuijile or double line of stakes in the bed, or on 

 the bank of" the river, of the branches of trees. 

 These stakes maybe from the ihirkness of one's 

 wrjsi to that of man's leu; ihey are to be driven 

 into the soil between two and lour leet deep, and 

 reach above the ijround, or above the water a lit- 

 tle higher than the rise of the greatest flood. 

 They may be fi'om six to twelve inclies distant 

 from each other; and if there is a doidile row, 

 they are to be placed in tlie quincunx order. 



"Such stakes, thus situated, can neither be dis- 

 placed nor shaken by any force of water. They 

 stop and entangle every sort of refuse brought 

 down by the river. They intercept the mud and 

 the gravel, which gradually form a t)ank, and 

 force the river to establish a barrier against its own 

 incursions— a barrier likewise far more efficacious 

 and more permanent, than any that can be formed 

 by art, vvilh earth and stones. 



"It is an obvious property of this mode of defiance 

 against the encroachments of rivers, that it is ea- 

 sily and quickly executed, and at a mere trifle of 

 expense. A single cart load of such stakes, in 

 some situations, might effectually preserve many 

 acres of rich land. Every river, by the above 

 method, may be thus turned and directed in its 

 course at will. It would always be advantageous, 



if (he stakes employed in this way were of the 

 different sons of willows. 



"These fake root, grow, and form a strong liv- 

 ing fence against the river. But if stakes of wil- 

 lows cannot be provided, cuttmgs, or truncheons 

 of willows, ought to be sunk in along with the 

 stakes, and intermixed with them. 



"For v/hi(di purpose, the shrubby and lovv- 

 gruwing willows are more proper than the mast 

 willow, the osier, the crack vvillov,', or any others 

 which grow, up to a tree." 



This mode of defence is judicious; but the diffi- 

 culty of executing it in a proper manner, niay per- 

 haps exclude it from g-eneral adoption. To ena- 

 ble the piles to v.'ithsiand the i'jrce of the river, 

 they must be sunk a greater depth into the ground 

 liian it is possible lor any mallet to drive them. 

 Dr. Walker mentions fh)m two to lour feet of 

 depth as sufficient; but from the experience of 

 others, it appear, tfiat at least eight or nine feel 

 is necessary, to render the piles firm; and to this 

 depth they cannot be driven by any thing else 

 than a pile engine, which in many situations it is 

 diiScilt, and 'in all circumstances expensive, to 

 procure. The inability of mallets to drive, the 

 piles, was particularly shown by the experiments 

 of Mr. Miller of Dalswinton, upon the river Niih, 

 in Dumfries-shire. In onler to prevent the en- 

 croachment of this river upon part of his proper- 

 ty, he drove in a number of piles at a little dis- 

 tance from the bank, and wattled them with the 

 branches of willows, &c. The piies were driven 

 with heavy mallets ajiparently firm into tite ground; 

 they continued so for some months, till a Iieavy 

 fall of rain having swelled tlie river, ths piles were 

 undermined and carried away. 



When there is an opportunity of executing a 

 bulwark of piles properly, the method adopted 

 by Mr. Miller, of wattling them with willows, Sec. 

 will be extremely useful in intercepting the mud 

 and refuse brouglit down by the stream. 



A more easy and effectual device, than any 

 which has yet been mentioned, for defending the 

 banks of a river, is that of stone piers orjuttees. 

 The object of these is, to throw off the stream 

 ii-om those places on which it^threaieiis to make 

 encroachments, to others where it can commit no 

 injury. Thus, if a river be encroaching on one 

 its banks at A, Fig. !, of Plate 11. a jutty of 



Plati: II. Plan representing Jutlees for ike thfmce <f River Banks. 



