294 On Embankments. 



bankment, that, with moderate repairs, might have preser- 

 ved it in perpetuity ( 478 ). 



One great cause that prevents the improvement of such 

 meadows, is, that, in England, many of them, after the hay 

 has been cut, are in a state of commonage, the remains of 

 feudal barbarity. In such cases, the most spirited and well- 

 informed cultivator, is checked in his exertions to ameliorate 

 that property in which others are thus interested, if they 

 will not contribute to the expense. A general law for pro- 

 moting the improvement of meadows thus circumstanced, 

 would be of essential benefit to extensive and valuable tracts, 

 and add considerably to the produce and opulence of the 

 country. 



In Scotland, the strict fetters of entailed estates, are a 

 great obstruction to such improvements, which a general 

 law, with proper regulations, might in a great measure ob- 

 viate. 



2. Reclaiming Land from the Sea, or at the Entrance of large 



Rivers. 



The embanking of land that has been, perhaps for ages, 

 overflowed by the sea, by large lakes, or rapid rivers, is one 

 of the greatest and boldest enterprises attempted by man ; 

 and the success with which it is generally attended, is an 

 ample proof, of what human industry is capable of effecting, 

 when its powers are called into action, and when self-pro- 

 tection and interest are the objects in view. The works of 

 this sort executed in Holland, would have been deemed in- 

 credible, had they not been accomplished in our own imme- 

 diate neighbourhood ; nor are there wanting examples of 

 such embankments in our own country, which do credit to 

 the skill and enterprising spirit of those by whom they were 

 undertaken. 



The first object to be considered, before attempting to 

 reclaim land, which, at low water, is left uncovered by the 

 sea, is whether or not the soil to be gained, is of a nature 

 capable of cultivation, and fit for the other purposes of agri- 

 culture ; for in many cases, what is exposed at low water, 

 and might easily be embanked, is an accumulation, to a great 

 depth, of barren sand or gravel, unfit for any useful pur- 

 pose (+'). 



On many parts of the coast however, the sea, at low water, 

 recedes so far, as to leave dry, large portions of surface, in 

 the bays and creeks of the shore, where the soil is of a rich 



