expenditure in the inner portion to secure uniformity. When, however,
as at Madras, the width of the structure is reduced to a minimum, the
action of the sea demonstrates that the strength of the structure must
be proportioned to the depth and exposure. In small fishery piers,
where great economy is essential to obtain the maximum shelter at
limited expense, it appears expedient to make the width of the
breakwater proportionate to the depth. This was done in Babbacombe
Bay; and in reconstructing the southern breakwater at Newcastle,
Ireland, advantage was taken of a change in direction of the outer
half to introduce an addition to the width, so as to make the strength
of the breakwater proportionate to the increase in depth and exposure.
In large structures, however, uniformity of design may be desirable
for each straight length of breakwater; though where two or more
breakwaters or outer arms enclose a harbour, the design should
obviously be modified to suit the depth and exposure. At Colombo
harbour, the superstructure of the less exposed north-west breakwater
has been made slightly narrower than that of the south-west
breakwater; and a simple rubble mound shelters the harbour from the
moderate north-east monsoon. In special cases, where a breakwater has
to serve as a quay, like the Admiralty pier at Dover, a high parapet
wall is essential; but in most cases, where a parapet merely enables
the breakwater to be more readily accessible in moderate weather, it
would be advisable to keep it very low, or to dispense with it
altogether, as at the southern Dover breakwater, the northern
breakwater at Sunderland, and the Colombo western breakwaters. This
course is particularly expedient in very exposed sites, as a high
parapet intensifies the shock of the waves against a breakwater and
their erosive recoil. Moreover, when a light has to be attended to at
the end of a breakwater, sheltered access can be provided by a subway,
as at Sunderland.

Structures in the sea almost always require works of maintenance; and
when a severe storm has caused any injury, it is most important to
carry out the repairs at the earliest available moment, as the waves
rapidly enlarge any holes that they may have formed in weak places.
(L. F. V.-H.)

BREAL, MICHEL JULES ALFRED (1832- ), French philologist, was born on
the 26th of March 1832, at Landau in Rhenish Bavar