The universal geography : earth and its inhabitants

THE CHANNEL SLOPE. 127
and clay, were uuderniined by the action of the rain, and the superincumbent
masses of rock were precipitated upon the beach below, where they now act as a
kind of embankment protecting the remaining cliif from the attacks of the sea.
Some of these landslips occurred almost in our own time. In 1799 a farm, with
about 100 acres of the surrounding land, slid down upon the beach, and more
recently still, in 1810 and 1818, other clifis broke away in a similar manner. The
narrow ravines worn into the rocks by running water are locally known as " chines."
Formerlj- they could only be explored with great difficult}-, but steps and easy paths
have been made to facilitate the progress of visitors in search of fine scenery.
The Isle of Wight, though scarcely more than half the size of Anglesey,* has
played a more considerable part in the modern history of England. Unlike the
Welsh island, it is not joined by bridges to the mainland, the dividing channel
being too wide and too deep.t A tunnel, about 4 miles in length, has, however,
been projected, and some preliminary surveys, with a view to its construction,
have actually been made. But though the channel which separates the island from
the mainland cannot yet be crossed drj'shod, like Menai Strait, there are few locali-
ties more crowded with shipping. It forms a vast roadstead, fairly sheltered from
most winds, and ramifies northward into the interior of Hampshire. This northern
extension of the road of Spithead is known as Southampton Water, from the
great outport of London which rises near its extremity, and which is exceptionally
favoured by the tide ; for whilst one tidal wave penetrates it through the
Solent, another arrives soon after through the channel of Spithead, sustaining the
first, and extending the time of high water. But the commercial town of South-
ampton is not the onlj- place that has profited by the excellent shelter afforded by
the Isle of Wight; the advantages of the position are also shared by the naval
station of Portsmouth. This great stronghold has been constructed on the flat
island of Portsea, at the entrance to the waters of Spithead.
The road of Spithead, Southampton Water, and the towns which have arisen
iipon them, render this portion of the English sea-coast of considerable importance,
and jointly with the beauty of the scenery and the mild climate, the}' have
attracted to it a large business or pleasure-seeking population. Nevertheless, a
wide tract of country, stretching from Southampton Water westward to the Avon
of Salisbury, is still occupied by a deer forest, and very sparsely peopled. This
"New Forest" covers an area of 60,000 acres, and if ancient chronicles can be
believed, it was planted by William the Cojiqueror, as a wild-boar and deer
preserve and hunting ground. He is stated to have destroyed twenty villages,
turning out the inhabitants and laying waste their fields. But owing to the
poor nature of the gravel and sand of this tract, it is not likely that it was ever
worth tilling. Eight hundred years ago there may have been more clearings
and groups of houses, but we may well doubt whether so ungrateful a soU can
ever have been extensively cultivated.
J
• Anglesey, 302 square miles ; Isle of Wight, 15.5 square miles,
t Least -width, 9,200 feet ; depth at the mouth of the Solent, 72 feet.
i Ramsay, " Physical Geology and Geography of Great Britain."
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