212 AGRICULTURE. BOOK I. 



This will bear all the weight of water that can possibly be put 

 on it, equally well with fig. 1., only the action of the tides would 

 break the surface of the side next the sea, which we may con- 

 trive to prevent, b} r coating that side with the durable material 

 in the natural kind, fig. 5., or, in other words, paving it with 

 flagstone or bricks. 



4. Between this and the first natural kind, a great variety 

 may be contrived, differing only in the degree of inclination 

 towards the sea; that which has the greatest slope, as fig. 1., 

 being coated over with sand or gravel ; that which has the least 

 slope, as fig. 6., covered with pavement; and the interme- 

 diate slopes coated with materials between the two extremes, 

 as coarse gravel, chalkstone, brick or sand, as in fig. 7. It may 

 be observed of this embankment, that it is wholly made of a 

 sandy loam, and placed upon soil of the same nature; but as 

 this would not sufficiently contain the water, at least for some 

 years after it was built, an upright column of clay is carried up 

 the centre from the argillaceous substrata below. This column 

 is represented by a a in the section, fig. 7* The case occurred 

 at Edenside, near St. Andrew's. 



In some very sandy shores, embankments may be made en- 

 tirely of wicker-work. Three or four rows of paling may be 

 made of different heights, and the intervals between them filled 



