Page:McCosh, John - Advice to Officers in India (1856).djvu/327

 storm in safety in lee of a belt of reeds, though the water was many feet deep throughout the reeds; whereas but for their shelter the boat would inevitably have been swamped by the wave. Here a belt of slender reeds was as effective as a substantial breakwater of masonry.

"Again, on the coast of Africa, near Cape L'Agulhas, the rocky coast is fringed for a quarter of a mile, more or less, with tangled seaweed secured to the bottom, by long ropy stems ending at the surface in filaments like ribbons that float upon the surface. The Surf as it rolls in, higher than it ever does at Madras, is broken and quite put down before it gets half way through the belt of seaweed. When the weed is not continuous to the shore a second Surf forms in the clear water (as it would do after passing through an artificial floating breakwater), lower than at first, but still heavy. I have rowed a crazy boat amongst such seaweed with impunity, whereas had no weed existed, not even a Massoola boat could have Used, yet the Surf was disarmed of its danger by floating filaments of seaweed!

"Now it appears to me that we have only to imitate Nature's admirable engineering, and bring the same principles into operation on the Madras Surf, to sober its violence down.

"I therefore propose that a certain number of anchors be dropped outside the surf, connected