190 
THE AGE OP THE WYE. 
round the side which was being worn away, and the river, 
being checked in its advance through the alluvium, began at 
once to form the bank or spit of land shown on the map. But 
the ridge near the water’s edge thus formed never joins on to 
the alluvium at the lower end, but leaves a gutter or opening 
through which the flood waters enter upon the lower ground 
within, by a slow back current or eddy, carrying on its surface 
many floating objects, such as branches of trees, and frequently, 
in the autumn, leaves in large quantities. These objects are 
deposited on this lower ground inside the ridge as the waters 
recede, and are afterwards buried by the subsequent deposit of 
the alluvial soil. At a place below the Wear End a deposit 
(f this sort, which had formerlj^ occurred, is being cut away by 
the stream, and now large trunks of oak trees are laid bare, 
with layers of leaves and hazelnuts, which must have been left 
there by the stream, in the manner just described, full 3000 
years ago. 
If the river now remains stationary for some years this 
ridge is raised lapidly by deposition up to the highest level 
attained by the alluvium, the reason being that the conditions 
needful for deposit are most favourable in such positions. These 
conditions are sufficiently simple: — In times of flood the water 
pours down the 80-yard wide channel at a great speed, and 
heavily laden with sediment. In those parts of the channel in 
which the water runs at or near to its full speed the tendency 
is to scour and not to deposit ; but when the stream passes 
round a bend of the . sort I have named the swiftest current 
is thrown towards the outer side of the stream, and as you 
look from thence towards the inner side you may observe that 
the speed of the current gradually diminishes until at the inner 
margin it has become slow enough for the great bulk of the 
suspended particles to be allowed to settle down. This occurs 
at the place where the ridge is formed. I'he water further 
