The daily crescent. [volume] ([New Orleans, La.]) 1848-1851, 1848-10-28
The Mississippi River.

Inc report Of Mr.. Dickinson from a committee
on the Mississippi river made before the American
Association Tor the promotion of Science, contains
many very curious facts and specuIations Ii esti-
mates that of the rain which falls on the surface
drained by the Mississippi, only one part out of
twelve passes off by the river the rest being eVapo-
rated. This leads the committee to suppose that as
the lands are cleared and the evaporation thereby
made more considerable, the floods of the river will
become less so. The committee state the follow
ing curious facts:
I" There is not by twenty or twenty-five per cent.
as much water now passes down the Mississippi
annually as there was twenty-five years ago. This
conclusion is not arrived at hastily, but by patient
observation of the circumstances in connection
Herewith during all that lengthy period, at whose
beginning there We're annual foundations of almost
all the low or bottom lands, and for very lengthy
periods of subuergence of almost all the bottom
lands, from the Bluffs or Highlands on one side Of
the river bottom TO those the other side and to
such degree that but little or no hopes were en-
tertained Of the practicability of their redemption
by any artificial means, that is, on any scale. But
such has been the dimunitiOn in lie annual guam
THY of water discharged from the Valley that those
lands have been progressively and rapidly re-
deemed from overflow, until very great portions of
them are now in the highest state Of cultivation,
and with but~compartlvely slight assistance from
art. in the way of embankments, and these such as
would not have been at all available against the
overwhelming effects Of former floods, and the
lengthy and annual foundations, both deep and ex-
pansiye, of the waters over almost all the bottom
lands; but now the river seldom rises to the same
elevation as formerly, and when it does, it is of
much shorter duration, and the waters are almost
cusively confined 10 the channel of the river, in
place OF being spread over almost all the bottom
lands the whole spring and early part OF the summer
All the advantages are progressively and rapidly
extending themselves, while the causes remain I'M
suspected overlooked, but not the less secure As
Il further evidence of the altered condition of this
river, we may mention the circumstance, that in
former times the steamboats, ascending or descend
ing the river were detained about half of their time
by dense iOgs, while now hardly any such obstrnc-
tons prevail so that packets succeed in making
their trips TO hour, with fears of such retard
alton. Assuming that the dimuntion Of the wa
tiers will continue in somewhat the same ratio they
have recently done, the time cannot be very far
distant when all apprehensons from lnundatlon
will have III a great measure passed away. We
will further remark, as an evidence Of change, that
the quantity of floating timber driit-wood pass
ing annually down the river, has diminished in a
far greater ratio than that Of the water, that the
aggregate quantity cannot now be over % per cent.
of that which formerly passed down.
RIVER.
We will now give Won proceed the Commiitee)
the quantity of solid matter with which the waters
of the Mississippi are annually charged, together
with its effects in the formation OF lands or filling
up of depressiOns. In order 10 arrive at these re-
quired facts, the following methods were adopted
was procured to one end of which was attached
tin tube of the cylindrical diameter as that of
the glass vessel TO which il attached In the TIN
tube Immediately above It's junction with the glass
cylinder there inserted a small glass cock, by
which the tin tube could be conveniently dis
charged Of its contents at pleasure, without caUs
ing any disturbance TO the contents OF the glass YES
sci below; this tin tube was IN length 4S inches.
The tube charged with water from the Mlssis-
sippi River, and this water was allowed time to
halo
that being accomplished, the water was drawn off.
and the tube re-chaEged by wafer from the river,
each particular charge being noted. This was
successfully repeated from the different conditions
aud stages of the rivers height and velocity, which
very materially affects the quantity of suspension,
and by a succession of such chargings and dis
chargings of the tin tube, amounting IN all to 1871
times, or in the aggregate TO a column of water OF
1896 feet, from which column OF wafer there was
deposited column of sediment, inclosed IN three
tubes, of II inches Assuming that, therefore, to
be the true quantity and the true product OF col
una of river water of % 22 inches il necessarily
follows that 81 is 10 1929 50 is the quantity OF
sedimentary matter contained III the water TO the
volume of the river, or, in other figures and words
the mean proportional quantity of sediment to the
river is as / to J2S. We have already asCertained
the quantity of water annually discharged by the
Mississippi River 10 he II 49,, 800 $50 $50 cubic
feet there must, then he deposited from that guam
tV of water y, 1873 053S92 10 cubic feet OF solid
matter. There can he no question but that much
matter in the character of coarse sand and gravel
is transported by the river current of the guam
tty Of this your Committee could have no possible
opportunity of estimating the value.
Being in possession of the data by which may be
computed, with some approximation 10 certainty,
the effects of the Mississippi deposits in the form
alton of land, or in filling up the Gulf, into which
it is empted, we will avail ourselves Of such data,
and endeavor to present the quantities deduciDle
therefrOm. In estimating the delta oil the MIssls-
sipp we have adopted for It the superhces assumed
by Dr. Lyell in his investigation OF thus SUBJECT,
and will say, with that gentleman, that the delta
of the Missssppi River cOmprehends all that great
alluvial plain which lies below or to the South OF
what until recently, was the first branchlng-oH, or
highest arm of the river called the Afclaialaya
This delta is computed TO contain superlclal area
of 1900 square miles. In deciding on Tie depth
Of this quantity, we will adopt that which was
assumed by Prof Ridde on this subject, and say
that it is of the average depth of Oneiith oil mile,
or 1850 feet-interred from that being the average
depth of the Gulf of Mexico from the BallZe TO the
Gulf of Florida. We find by computation, agree
able 10 the above data, that il would require a
quantity not less than 400, 3S ,429, 4lOOOO cubic
feet or 2720 cubic miles of solid matter, To consil-
tute this delta, having ascertained the quantity OF
solid matter annually brought down by the MIssls-
sipp River to be % 1873 053 S92 cubic 1eet, which
would be equal to one square mile OF the depth OF
1856 feet in 39l Is days, or one cubic mile III .
would require series of IA 1903 As years for the
river to effect the formation of the present delta.
THE CuoLERA.-The following fable MAJ not
be nopportune at the present moment: One day
traveller met the plague going into Cairo, and ac
cosed it thus For what purpose are you entering
Cairo" "TO kill 1000 people" Some time at
ter, the same traveller met the plague again, and
said, 4" But you killed 10000 - Nay" the
plague replied, ." ! killed but 5000; fear did the
rest London Times.
REALITIES OF LIFE.-A person being asked
what was meant by the realities Of life, answered.
-" Real estate, real money, and a real good dinner
none of which could be realised without real
hard work
o. Tie revolutions produced by genus III t'le
world of thought naturally end in actual rev
ton in society.
m baft t8Uuht during the