THE CHANNEL SLOPE. 127 



and clay, were undermined by tlie action of the rain, and the superincumbent 

 masses of rock were precipitated upon the beach below, where they now act as a 

 kind of embankment protecting the remaining cliff from the attacks of the sea. 

 Some of these landslips occurred almost in our own time. In 1799 a farm, with 

 about 100 acres of the surrounding land, slid down upon the beach, and more 

 recently still, in 1810 and 1818, other cliffs broke away in a similar manner. The 

 narrow ravines worn into the rocks by running water are locally known as " chines." 

 Formerly they could only be explored with great difficulty, but steps and easy paths 

 have been made to facilitate the progress of visitors in search of fine scenery. 



The Isle of ^yight, though scarcely more than half the size of Anglesey,* has 

 played a more considerable part in the modern history of England. Unlike the 

 Welsh island, it is not joined by bridges to the mainland, the dividing channel 

 being too wide and too deep.f A tunnel, about 4 miles in length, has, however, 

 been projected, and some preliminary surveys, with a view to its construction, 

 have actually been made. But though the channel which separates the island from 

 the mainland cannot yet be crossed dryshod, like Menai Strait, there are few locali- 

 ties more crowded with shipping. It forms a vast roadstead, fairly sheltered from 

 most winds, and ramifies northward into the interior of Hampshire. This northern 

 extension of the road of Spithead is known as Southampton Water, from the 

 great outport of London which rises near its extremity, and which is exceptionally 

 favoured by the tide ; for whilst one tidal wave penetrates it through the 

 Solent, another arrives soon after through the channel of Spithead, sustaining the 

 first, and extending the time of high water. But the commercial town of South- 

 ampton is not the only place that has profited by the excellent shelter afforded by 

 the Isle of Wight; the advantages of the position are also shared by the naval 

 station of Portsmouth. This great stronghold has been constructed on the flat 

 island of Portsea, at the entrance to the waters of Spithead. 



The road of Spithead, Southampton Water, and the towns which have arisen 

 upon them, render this portion of the English sea-coast of considerable importance, 

 and jointly with the beauty of the scenery and the mild climate, they have 

 attracted to it a large business or pleasure-seeking population. Nevertheless, a 

 wide tract of country, stretching from Southampton Water westward to the Avon 

 of Salisbury, is still occupied by a deer forest, and very sparsely peopled. This 

 "New Forest" covers an area of 60,000 acres, and if ancient chronicles can be 

 believed, it was planted by William the Conqueror, as a wild-boar and deer 

 preserve and hunting ground. He is stated to have destroyed twenty villages, 

 turning out the inhabitants and laying waste their fields. But owing to the 

 poor nature of the gravel and sand of this tract, it is not likely that it was ever 

 worth tilling. Eight hundred years ago there may have been more clearings 

 and groups of houses, but we may well doubt whether so ungrateful a soil can 

 ever have been extensively cultivated. Î 



• Anglesey, 302 square miles ; Isle of Wight, 155 square miles. 



t Least widtli, 9,200 feet; depth at the mouth of the Solent, 72 feet. 



X Eams:ty, " Physical Geology and Geography of Great Britain." 



