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F : , : 9 1902. ] MARINE REVIEW. available in detail. The artificial waterways which may properly be termed ship-canals are nine in number, namely: 1. The Suez canal, begun in 1859 and completed in 1869. 2. The Cronstadt and St. Petersburg canal, begun in 1877 and com- pleted in 1890. 3. The Corinth canal, begun in 1884 and completed in 1893. 4. The Manchester ship-canal, completed in 1894. 5. The Kaiser Wilhelm canal, connecting the Baltic and North Seas, completed in 1895. 6. The Elbe and Trave canal, connecting the North Sea and Baltic, opened in 1900. 7. The Welland canal, connecting Lake Erie with Lake Ontario. 8 and 9. The two canals, United States and Canadian, respectively, connecting Lake Superior with Lake Huron. The description which is given of each of these great waterways shows that the length of the Suez canal is about 90 miles, the cost $100,000,000, the present depth 31 ft., width at bottom 108 ft. and at the surface 420 ft., and that the number of vessels passing through it has grown from 486 in 1870 to 1,494 in 1875, 2,026 in 1880, 3,889 in 1890, and 3,441 in 1900. The tolls charged are about $2 per net reg- istered ton. The Cronstadt and St. Petersburg canal, which gives a passage way for great vessels to St. Peters- burg, is 16 miles long, including the deepening of the bay channel, 20% ft. in depth, and the total cost estimated at $10,000,000. The Corinth canal, which connects the Gulf of Corinth with the Gulf of Aegina, is 4 miles in length, 26% ft. in depth, 72 ft. wide at the bottom, cost about $5,000,000, and reduces the sailing distance about 175 miles. The average tolls charged are 18 cents per ton and 20 cents per passenger. The Manchester ship-canal, which connects Manchester, Eng., with the Mersey river and Liver- pool, was opened in 1894. Its length is 3514 miles, depth 26 ft., width at bottom 120 ft. and at the sur- face 175 ft., and cost $75,000,000. The commerce on the canal shows a growth from 879,204 tons in 1895 to 1,492,320 tons in 1900. The Kaiser Wilhelm canal, which connects the Baltic and North Sea through Germany, is 61 miles in length, 29% ft. in depth, 72 ft. wide at the bot- tom, 190 ft. wide at the surface, and cost about $40,- 000,000. The number of vessels passing through it has increased from 19,960 in 1897 to 29,095 in 1900, of which number 16,776 were sailing vessels. The tonnage in 1897 was 1,848,458, and in 1900 4,282,094 tons. An additional canal connecting the same bodies of water by way of the Elbe and Trave rivers was opened in 1900. Its length is 41 miles, depth about 10 ft., width 72 ft., and cost $6,000,000. The great North Holland canal, which connects Amsterdam with the sea, cut in 1845 but deepened at a later date, has now a depth of 20 ft., a width of 125 ft. at the surface. The Caledonian canal, which connects the Atlantic and North Sea through the north of Scotland, is 17 ft. in-depth, 50 ft. in width at the bottom, 250 miles long, cost $7,000,000, and is at'its highest point 94 ft. above sea level. The canal du Midi, cut through France from Toulouse on the Garonne to Cette on the Mediterranean, a distance of 150 miles, is 6% ft. deep, 60 ft. wide, and 600 ft. above the sea level at its highest point, and has 114 locks; total cost, $3,500,000. In America the canals connecting the great lakes are the principal ship-canals and are three in number--the Welland canal, originally constructed in 1833 and enlarged in 1871 and 1900; the Sault Ste. Marie, or St. Mary's river canal, opened in 1855 and enlarged in 1897; and the Canadian canal in the St. Mary's river, opened in 1895. The American and Canadian canals at St..Mary's Falls are practically identical in location and dimensions, and are used interchangeably by vessels engaged in commerce, as convenience may dictate. The depth of the canals at the St. Mary's river is sufficient to accommodate vessels drawing 20 ft. of water. The American canal was originally constructed by the state of Michigan, but subsequently taken charge of by the United States and enlarged at a cost of $2,150,000. The cost of the Welland canal was about $30,000,000, largely due to the fact that twenty-five locks are L required in surmounting the rise of 327 ft. in the distance of 27 miles. The number of vessels passing through the canals at St. Mary's river has greatly increased during the past few years, while the number passing through the Welland canal has materially decreased; the number passing through the St. Mary's canals being in 1873, 2,517, and in 1901, 20,041, of which 15,837 passed through the United States canal, and 4,204 through the Canadian. The number of vessels passing through the Welland canal has decreased from 6,425 in 1873 to 2,202 in 1899. The marked contrast be- tween the business of the St. Mary's Falls and Welland canals is largely due to the fact that the freights originating in the Lake Superior district are chiefly discharged at Lake Erie ports, and those destined for the Lake Superior region are chiefly produced in the section contiguous to Lake Erie, the Lake Superior freights being 'chiefly iron, copper and grain, and the Lake Erie freights for Lake Superior, coal and manufactures. The business of the St- Mary's Falls canals by. far surpasses in volume that of any other canal of the world, the freight tonnage of the American and Canadian canals combined being in 1901, 24,626,976 registered tons, while the net tonnage of the Suez canal in 1900 was 9,878.1 the Kaiser Wilhelm canal 4,282,094 tons, a 2 FACILITATING COALING AT SEA. The naval board of construction has adopted plans for improving the coaling facilities of new warships. The board decided that the present system of coaling at sea was cumbersome and too slow. The new plans which were submitted by Rear Admirals R. B. Bradford and F. T. Bowles, provide for doing away with a great deal of the exterior paraphernalia of vessels and substituting booms and derricks with which the coal will be | | | | | : s i INCLINED ENGINES FOR DETROIT-BUFFALO CO. SIDE-WHEEL STEAMERS. hoisted aboard. Wider hatchways for the coal holds are provided for also. These plans will be carried out in the construction of the battleships and armored cruisers for which contracts were recently awarded. The board decided to recommend a modification of the present system of withholding payments to ship builders until the war vessels constructed by them had had a thorough practical test in commission. Inquiries made by 'the board showed that the contractors, to cover the interest on money borrowed to meet their expenses for the period between the com- pletion of ships and the time of payment for the work, have been adding the amount. of the interest to their bids. Twenty per cent. 'of the contract price is withheld from the contractors by the government until the ships built by them have been thoroughly tried, usually for five months?~ The board on construction believes that the withheld payments shouldbe Only 5 per cent, of the contract price. Through reducing the amount withheld, the contractors, they hold, will not include the interest payments in bids