Sea and Land. By N. S. Shaler. Illustrated. (Smith, Elder,
and Co.)—Professor Shaler devotes himself more particularly to the configuration of coasts and the action of the tide on cliffs and beaches. The action of the sea is patent enough to those who live on the coast, but little attention is paid to the method whereby its encroachment can be resisted. Owners of the foreshore sell the beach, with the result that low-lying districts are at the mercy of combined storm and tide. This is often the case on our South coast. Another important agent which works to balance the encroachment of the sea is the action of marine weeds, in filling up lagoons and estuaries shut off from the sea by beach and spits of land. In the States there are several instances of this, the well- known " eel-grass " being the agent. Professor Shaler describes in an interesting and by no means technical fashion the various phenomena and their action, and has, too, some interesting chapters on icebergs and deep sea life.
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