Sometimes the pitching or loose stone is not carried up to the top of the bank, or even up to high flood-level, and the bank above the pitching is protected by turfing--the pieces of turf being placed on edge normally to the slope if very steep (fig. 14) or laid parallel to the slope if it is not very steep--or, above ordinary water-level, by plantations of osiers or willows which obstruct the water and tend to cause silting, and whose roots bind the banks together. [Illustration: FIG. 16.] Another method of using fascines is to lay them on the slopes with their lengths normal to the direction of the stream. The upper end of a fascine is above low water, and the lower end extends down to the bed of the stream. Sometimes large ropes made of straw, or rough mats made of grass, are laid on the slopes and pegged down, or mattresses of fascines are laid on the slopes and weighted with stones. [Illustration: FIG. 17.] A deep recess in the bank (fig. 16) can be filled in, before the protection is added, with earth well rammed. On the Adige the filling material consisted (fig. 17) of faggots filled with stones, small cross dams being made at intervals, as shown by the dotted lines, to arrest flood water and cause it to deposit silt. At the back of the berm, poplar or willow slips were planted, and these grew up and their roots held the bank together. This system succeeded well. A method of protection which is suitable when the water contains much silt is what is known in India as bushing. Large leafy branches of trees are cut and hung, as shown in fig. 18, by ropes to pegs. They must be closely packed so as not to shake. At first they require looking after, but silt rapidly deposits and the branches become fixed and no longer dependent on the ropes. If the work is carefully done, the result is a smooth, regular, and tenacious berm, as per dotted line in the figure. [Illustration: FIG. 18.] [Illustration: FIG. 19.] Another method, used on canals, is to make up the bank with earth and to revet it with twigs or reeds, as shown in fig. 19. The foundation must be taken down well below bed-level, otherwise the work may slip. This kind of work cannot be done except when the canal is dry. If the bank consists of sand or of very sandy soil, it must in any case have a flat side slope such as 3 to 1. If the sand is in layers alternating with firm soil, it is a good plan to dig out some of the sand and to replace it with clods of hard earth. Staking (fig. 20) may be used, the stakes being one or two feet apart from centre to centre, and long twigs laid horizontally being passed in and out of the stakes, or bushing filled in behind the stakes. But bushing alone is cheaper and nearly as good. [Illustration: FIG. 20.]