vals of twenty or thirty feet, frames made of rough strips of board
of the exact shape of the section of the proposed embankment, the workmen
may remove the sod to a depth of six inches, laying it all on the outside
of the position of the proposed embankment. The sod from the line of the
ditch, from which the earth for the embankment is to be taken, should also
be removed and placed with the other. This ditch should be always _inside_
of the dyke, where it will never be exposed to the action of the sea. It
should be, at the surface, broader than the base of the dyke, and five
feet deep in the center, but its sides may slope from the surface of the
ground directly to the center line of the bottom. This is the best form to
give it, because, while it should be five feet deep, for future uses as a
drain, its bottom need have no width. The great width at the surface will
give such a pitch to the banks as to ensure their stability, and will
yield a large amount of sod for the facing of the dyke. The edge of this
ditch should be some feet away from the inner line of the embankment,
leaving it a firm support or shoulder at the original level of the ground,
the sod not being removed from the interval. The next step in the work
should be to throw, or wheel, the material from the ditch on to the place
which has been stripped for the dyke, building it up so as to conform
exactly to the profile frames, these remaining in their places, to
indicate the filling necessary to make up for the settling of the
material, as the water drains out of it.

[Fig. 47 - DYKE AND DITCH.]

Fig. 47 - DYKE AND DITCH.

As fast as a permanent shape can be given to the outer face of the dyke,
it should be finished by having the sod placed against it, being laid
flatwise, one on top of another, (like stone work,) in the most solid
manner possible. This should be continued to the top of the slope, and the
flat top of the dyke should also be sodded,--the sods on the top, and on
the slope, being firmly beaten to their places with the back of the spade
or other suitable implement. This will sufficiently protect the exposed
parts of the work against the action of any waves that may be formed on
the flat between the dyke and the deep water, while the inner slope and
the banks of the ditch, not being exposed to masses of moving water, will
retain their shape and will soon be covered with a new growth.(26) A
sectio