CHAPTEE V. 



THE DEFENCE OF SEA-SHOEES AGAINST THE ACTION OF THE 



WAVES. 



Works should not be of an aggressive character, but purely for defence. Rubble 

 moles. Groins. Continuous line of piling with occasional low jetties. 

 Drainage of Reclamation Works. 



IN more open and exposed estuaries than those we have been 

 considering, and all along the exposed sea-shores of the coast, the 

 works of reclamation or protection assume a more formidable 

 aspect, and must be considered under the fourth branch of the 

 subject, viz., Defence of sea-shores against the action of the 

 waves. 



The first remark I have to offer on this subject is, that in all 

 cases of such exposure the works should never be of so aggressive 

 a character as may be prudent in sheltered estuaries, as it is a 

 dangerous policy to attempt to encroach on the sea-coast within 

 high-water mark, excepting with works of a solidity and cost 

 proportionate to what they have to resist, and this, I may safely 

 say, will, in almost all instances, be found to be greatly in excess 

 of the agricultural value of the land reclaimed. In illustration 

 of this, I may quote a case where a road had been formed along 

 a sea-beach for a considerable distance round the boundary-wall of 

 valuable agricultural property. In this case I found it advis- 



