490 ON THE BED OF THE GERMAN OCEAN, &c. 



it will perhaps appear, that the instances in which 

 the sea can be considered as just taking a portion 

 of land from one part, while it adds in like propor- 

 tion to another part of the coast, will come far 

 short of the instances of detrition in all quarters 

 of the globe. 



Having now pointed out, from actual observa- 

 tion on about one-half of the coast of Ireland, and 

 on all parts of the shores of Great Britain, from 

 the Scilly Islands to Unst, or northmost of the 

 Shetland Islands, That the land, on the mar- 

 gin of the sheltered bays and friths as well as on 

 the most exposed promontories and open shores, 

 is undergoing the process of waste and decay 

 from the impulse and action of the sea ; I shall 

 in a future paper, with the indulgence of the So- 

 ciety, endeavour to shew that the Cause of this 

 effect, particularly on the shores of the German 

 Ocean and British Channel, is, in a good measure, 

 owing to the immense quantity of debris which 

 must be accumulating, at least to a certain depth, 

 in the bottom of the ocean. 



