AND PROTECTION OF AGRICULTURAL LAND. 69 



naturally embraces those gigantic reclamations which now form 

 large portions of Holland and Denmark, and the Fen districts of 

 England. I do not, as stated in the outset, propose to treat of 

 such undertakings, which can only be accomplished by national 

 resources or by powerful public companies. The protection of 

 Holland, a country which has been called " the gift of the 

 ocean," is believed to have cost upwards of L.300,000,000 

 sterling. The sea-dykes of Schleswig and Holstein, in Den- 

 mark, are stated to protect about 900,000 acres. * The Eomney 

 Marsh, the first of England's reclamations, has an area of 70,000 

 acres. The Fen lands of Lincoln and Norfolk are computed at 

 600,000 acres. But, to learn the history of these gigantic 

 English reclamation and drainage operations, the reader must 

 refer to the writings of Sir W. Dugdale in 1652, f and of 

 W. Elstobb in 1793;J and interesting details regarding 

 the reclamations in Holland and Denmark are to be found 

 in papers in the Proceedings of the Institution of Civil 

 Engineers, by Mr John Paton, C.E.,* and Mr John Henry 

 Muller of the Hague ; and also in Mr Hyde Clarke's paper 

 on the Engineering of Holland, in Weale's Quarterly Papers. 



It is well to notice, however, that though these extensive 

 schemes differ from the more humble works we have been 

 considering, ^as regards the larger area reclaimed or pro- 



*0n the Sea Dykes of Sclileswig and Holstein. By John Paton, C.E., Min. 

 of Proc. of Institution of Civil Engineers, 1862. 



t History of Embanking and Draining of divers Fens. By Sir "W. Dugdale, 1652. 



t A Historical Account of the Great Level of the Fens. By W. Elstobb, 

 engineer, Lyne, 1793. 



On Reclaiming Land from Seas and Estuaries. By John Henry Muller, 

 Min. of Proc. of Institution of Civil Engineers, 1862. 



