314 



ON THE BED OF THE 



XXII.— On the Bed of the German Ocean, or 

 North Sea. 



By Robert Stevenson, Esq. F. R. S. E. & M. W. S. 

 Civil Engineer. 



(Read 8th April 1820.) 



In a former paper, I had the honour of laying 

 before the Society, a pretty full account of the 

 wasting effects of the sea upon the margin of the 

 land, on all the shores of Great Britain, and a part 

 of Ireland. From personal observation since the 

 date of that paper, (read 2d May 1816, and insert- 

 ed in vol. ii. p. 464. of the Society's Memoirs,) 

 I have been enabled to add many striking exam- 

 ples bearing upon the same point, not only on the 

 British coast, but as referable to all quarters of the 

 globe ; the result of which is, that the encroach- 

 ment of the sea upon the land, may be received as 

 a general principle. On account of the details al- 

 ready given in the former paper, it might appear 



