372 WILD LIFE IN A SOUTHERN COUNTY. 



trees and willows. So that on a small scale the same 

 thing happens as with the drift-wood of the ocean ; 

 and, indeed, by studying the action of natural forces 

 as exhibited in our own pools and brooks, it becomes 

 much easier to comprehend the gigantic operations by 

 which the surface of the earth is altered. 



For instance, the north-eastern edge of the water is 

 continually encroaching on the land, eating away the 

 sandy soil, showing that the prevalent winds are south 

 and west. The waves, thrown against the shore 

 with the force they have acquired in rolling six or 

 seven hundred yards, wash away the earth and under- 

 mine the bank, forming a miniature cliff or precipice, 

 the face of which is always concave, projecting a 

 little at the foot and also at the top. So much is 

 this the case that an unwary person walking too near 

 the edge may feel the sward suddenly yield, and find 

 it necessary to scramble off before a few hundred- 

 weights of earth subside into the water. 



In this process the loamy part of the earth is dis- 

 sipated, or rather held in suspension, while the small 

 stones and ultimately the heavier sand fall to the 

 bottom, and form the sandy floor preferred by the 

 fish. The loam discolours the water during a storm 

 for several yards out to sea, so to say ; so that in a 

 boat passing by you know by the hue of the waves 

 when you are approaching the dangers of the cliffs. 

 This continuous eating away of the earth proceeds 

 so fast that an old hollow oak tree now stands 

 at what may be called the high tide of summer 



