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Your committee found the extensive river border of Mr. 

 Ordway's farm sloping gently to the water, all well graded 

 over and capable of being cut with a mowing machine. 

 Adjoining the farm the hanks of the river were in their 

 natural state, and showed, very plainly by contrast, just 

 what Mr. 0. had accomplished. These were covered with 

 trees and bushes, were steep in many places, full of irregu- 

 larity and depression, mostly the effects of former river 

 action, and every here and there were areas washed out by 

 the recent action of the waters of the Merrimac. Mr. 0. 

 has not only reclaimed a waste and levelled its irregular 

 surface by plowing down here and filling up there, so that 

 a mowing machine can run over it, but, best of all he has 

 made his slope at such an angle as to prevent from the pos- 

 sibility of future erosion. I have never seen the subject 

 discussed, but will venture the suggestion that the angle at 

 which the slope of the soil meets the water to insure pro- 

 tection from wearing away in the future, must be about the 

 same along our river bank as that known as the " beach 

 angle."' along the coast of the ocean. The fact that there 

 is such an angle, and that the coast or any structure to 

 which the waves have access is liable to destruction until 

 that is formed, is a discovery of comparatively recent years. 

 When the great breakwaters were being built off the coast 

 of Cherburg in France and Plymouth in England, the fust 

 attempts failed, every heavy storm tearing them to pieces 

 and frustrating the skill of the ablest engineers of their day. 

 Finally it was noted that where the slope of stones made an 

 angle with the water of about 20 degrees they were no 

 longer disturbed. Some scientist, on studying into the 

 matter, found that the same angle was the one at which 

 beaches meet the ocean, where they protested the land from 

 erotion. and hence it was called the '•' beach angle." I 

 would therefore suggest that in making these protecting 

 slopes in improving the banks of our river, the angle of 

 safety to the ocean coast be had in mind. For protection 

 from the effects of the impinging of floating logs and ice 

 there can be no angle of safety : the price for them must 

 be eternal vigilance. 



