CttESIL 15EACH. 9 



suggestive of what would happen if this barrier was removed or 

 became inefficient. That tremendous sweep of the Ocean*' into 

 the softer secondary rocks of the south of England would speedily 

 be enlarged, and the sea would doubtless by this time have 

 penetrated to the valley of the Wey, if not to the foot of the 

 Ridgway Hill itself. 



Nor is this land-preserving action the only economic benefit 

 which the county and the nation derive from the Chesil Beach. 

 We owe to it likewise the splendid roadstead of Portland. The 

 Government may construct as many breakwaters as they please, 

 but the true breakwater is one that was placed there by natural 

 causes, and which holds in check the furious western wave and 

 rolls it back upon itself. When our rivals across the Channel 

 wished to make a good roadstead at Cherbourg they were 

 obliged to construct a " digue " at great expense. In the case 

 of the Portland roadstead, Nature herself has made the principal 

 " digue," and anything else is but an accessory. 



To conclude this long story, then, we recognise in the Chesil 

 Beach a natural feature, which is interesting in its past history, 

 and instructive in the phenomena of its present condition, 

 whilst, as an instrument in preserving the coast of Dorset from 

 the inroads of the sea, it is a factor of supreme importance. 



-^^ 



* Although forming part of the English Channel, Lyme Bay (theTortlaud end 

 is called West Bay) is really open to the Atlantic, since a line drawn at right 

 angles to the mean trend of the Chesil Beach would meet no land nearer than 

 the uorthera coast of South America. 



