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TIDAL LAND RECLAMATION
changed almost as little as that of the shepherd. Old-time names and bases of measurement persist in many districts, so that caution is necessary in accepting local estimates of quantities. The shifting of clay is measured either by the “floor” or by the cubic yard. In different districts, sometimes in close proximity, the unit measurement of the rod varies. The “ floor” is i square rod a foot deep, and the local measurement of the lineal rod is sometimes 15, sometimes i6|, sometimes 18, and sometimes 20 feet. The “ floor” of 400 feet contains about 15 cubic yards, and that of 320 feet about 12 cubic yards, so that care must be exercised to prevent miscalculation.
   The nomenclature of the sea bank is worthy of record. The base of the wall is usually termed the “seat”, and the body of the wall up to high-water level is called the “main bank”. In embankments facing the sea, the crest, up to within a few feet of the summit of the wall, is often called the “outburst bank”, and the actual apex is called the “swash bank”. On the land side of these banks there is usually a berm slightly inclined towards the ditches. This is called the “foreland”, and the main ditch running at the back of the “foreland” is, in most of the Essex districts, termed the “delph”. Many other local names are found in different districts. In the West of England the main ditches are termed “ reens ”. Subsidiary ditches are called “ rills ”, the waterways intersecting the saltings being locally called “creeks”.
   The navvy’s run is usually taken at 100 yards, and a good workman will shift 9 cubic yards a day, but the average is more like 6 or 7 cubic yards. One man will store as much as three men can run, and the packing of the spits of earth upon the face of a bank is called “flood flanking”. The short piling sometimes used at the foot of banks is 4, 5, or 6 feet in length, and the usual reckoning is that four score of 6-foot piles make a hundred, five score of 5-foot piles, and six score of 4-foot piles. These piles are mostly the toppings of trees, which are sometimes oak, but preferably elm or birch. They are driven in by hand. The re-sodding of the bank consists of the lifting of the top spit of grass and replacing this as the surface of the new work.
   The front of the bank facing exposure to tidal waters is laid