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A FEW HISTORICAL FACTS AND THE CAN ALS--Continued The length of this canal is 26% miles. The total lift is 326% feet, and there are 25 locks, each 270 feet long and 45 feet wide, with 14 feet of water on the sills. Besides the regular lift locks there are two pairs of guard gates and one guard lock. There are no tolls of any kind. Vessels must not run more than 4 miles an hour through the canal reaches, except on the summit level where a greater speed is permitted. The first Welland canal had 40 wooden locks and was not. cut. through to Lake Brie. This canal led into the Welland river; from there vessels passed into the Niagara river just below Grand island and then came up the Niagara river to Lake Erie. The present Welland canal is the third one built. The Lake Ontario entrance is at Port Dalhousie and the Lake Erie entrance is at Port Colborne. The second canal built came into Lake Erie at Port Colborne and Port Maitland. The Lake Ontario entrance to the second or Old Canal is also at Porr. Dalhousie. The second or Old Canal connects with the third or Present Canal at Allanburgh, about 9 miles south of Port Dalhousie. It has 26 locks 150 feet long, 26% feet wide with 10 feet of water on sills. II is now being used practically exclusively for water power purposes, and is not being navigated owing to the strong current. The "Feeder." which supplied the first an 1 second canals with water from the Grand River above the dam at Dunnville is 19 miles long and joins with the present canal at Welland and has its Lake Erie entrance at Port Maitland with a branch running to Dunnville. Its locks are 1E0 feet long. 26% feet wide and its navigable depth is 6 feet. It is open for navigation from sunrise to sunset. The fourth canal, called the Welland Ship Canal, is now under construction. Its length will be 25 miles. The Lake Ontario entrance will be at Port Weller, about 3 miles east of Port Dalhousie. It will join the present canal at Allanburgh and follow the line of the present canal having Port. Colborne also as its Lake Erie entrance. There will be 7 lift locks, each of 461-2 feet lift. They will accommodate vessels 800 feet long. 80 feet, wide and drawing 30 feet. The reaches between locks for the present will be made to accomodate vessels drawing 25 feet and will eventually be deepened to 30 feet when required. It is estimated the cost will be $50,000,000.00, and it is expected it will he opened for navigation about 1918. Mr. J. L. Weller, St. Catharines, is Kngineer-in-charge. THE ERIE CANAL The Erie canal is a free waterway. Most of the freighting on this canal has been done with canal boats. The length of The canal from Buffalo to Albany is 363 miles; the total lift, is 568 feet. The work of construction commenced in 1817, and the canal was opened in 1825 at a cost of $7,602,000. The State of New York has appropriated 5101,000,000 to reconstruct this canal from Buffalo to Troy, a distance of 442 miles. The length of the new locks will be 328 feet, width 45 feet, depth of water on mitre sill 12 feet; there will be 35 new locks. Beats not to exceed 310 feet in length will be able to navigate the new canal; their carrying capacity will be about 2,700 to 3,000 tons, and will be operated by mechanical power: the headroom from under the bridges to the water will be 15 feet. It is anticipated that this canal will be ready for navigarion about 1915. CHICAGO DRAINAGE CANAL Length, 28 miles; from 160 to 290 feet wide; 22 feet deep. Connects Chicago with the Des Plaines river. Current figured at from 1% to 2 miles an hour. After January 17, 1907, the bridges crossing this canal must go into service as movable; the canal will then be a free waterway. The main object in building this canal was to carry off the foul water of the Chicago river. ST. CLAIR FLATS CANAL Built in 1871. Extends across the St. Clair Flats and into Lake Sr. Clair; consists of two dikes, each 7,200 feet long aw with a channel between them 292 feet wide and 20 feet deep-There is also a new channel just completed (1906) on the west side of the west dike, the west dike therefore now being i» dividing pier between the two channels. Upbound boats must ta ' the east side, and downbound boats must take the west am• Without these piers a channel could not be kept open on acco of the drifting sand. 214