PART IV. AGRICULTURE. 209 



dered. From the uniformity of the surface the water acts with 

 the same power on one part as on another. Were a few stones 

 or bushes distributed on it, the water would form eddies round 

 them, each of which would soon become a large hole. If the 

 surface be harder in one place than another, a similar effect 

 will be produced. 



2. Bold, perpendicular, rocky shores are always backed by 

 earth or other rocks (as represented in the section, fig. 5.) ; and 

 it is evident, that their strength consists in the resistance of this 

 accumulation of materials, not in their disposition, as in the 

 other kind. Their durability consists in the compactness and 

 uniform texture of the rocks on the side next the sea. If it be 

 full of clefts, or if some parts of it be of a softer nature than 

 others, the sea in time will enter these, and break down the 

 bank more or less, according to these circumstances. Instances 

 of this frequently occur, of which there is a recent example in the 

 land that perished by the sea in the Isle of Wight. 



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