The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1874-04-13
The River Channel.

Quoted with good judgment and rs muen On
petition as was we'll possible with the 'ofee
eup,oycd. The dredges are at WORK upo"
the bars which have given the pri"c'p' '.'
novancc Of late and twelve tee' "a'e.
mean tide is now afforded, ana tue p''ii - ~
On a, decnenin- the water upon them uh'i'
4 dep,h uniform With that OF Tue pot' d.
Rockets is established.
few gentlemen and several members OF
thc River Committee went down 70 see tne
oncra,;ops of removing rocks and sand last
week. and were much gratified at the evil
dences Of the success sful progress made. AS
We have said before, under the joint dlree-
ton Of Colonel CRAIdulLL, Of United states
engineers, and Major TURIN, 1t was soule
time ago agreed to concentrate the lorce GU.
Moved upon the removal Of the boulders ana
rocxy reefs from the upper end OF the port
=, Rockets down to the brewery. These on
s,ruc,ions had caused much injury to vessels,
besides much delay in the business oil snip
ming. 1t was thought wisest to remoVetnem
aad establish grade to which the bars De-
Low should be made to conform.
While the machinery was thus employed
t1e lower bars were increased Dy &c" ue-
,osits of silt, and the channel was maze
more shallow at points where the dreoSes
had deepeDed it. The work OF removing
tue rocks is nearly complete, and the
lrc,,ees have been of late able to give atten-
ton to the bars. Where the rocks stooo
there is now seventeen to nineteen feet OF
wafer. There is not great quantity OF rock
to be removed, and that is out OF the way
OF vessels, though its removal VIII give
more room to their movements. NEAR! OPP
,,osite Gillic's creek is body OF rock IN
form of reef upon which there Is seven
feet water. 1t does not Interfere with the
channel. This will lie removed in snort
time, very much to the benefi. Of the port.
Nearly opposite the ship lock, at the end OF
the dock, lies the large rock which every
bsdy is familiar with. This too will be
soon attacked. 1ir. c. L. KALMGACH, the eff
uc:crt assistant of Colonel CEAlGulLL, pro-
poses to bore with the diamond drill! four
,n-ee.inch holes, each twenty feet
drcn. into which will be placed
ui,ro-clvcerine equal in strength to SIX thou
SAID pounds Of powder. When this blast J
taxes place we shall probably all know it. 1t
will burst I'D the venerable rock, and it will
soon DE removed from its long resting place.
This will be the beginning OF the march of
Cceneuipc the channel above Rockets, which $
VIII be continued. it is to be hoped, until a
ships can be safey moored at Mayo's bridge. q
The process of boring rock with the dla-
mond drill is very interesting. A granite
rock loot thick was bored through by the L
rcl and half drill in fifteen minutes, and Il
We were Informed that the cost Of working L
lis drill for eighteen months was less
uan that of the coal that would be con- U
tuned in rakingan repairing old-fashioned e
!l:!is to Go the same work.
Eo oae can im1gine the heavy work that l
l.s becn done III removing the rocks from l.
&c river.bed ct Rockets without visiting
h ccUc and bcho ldiug the long line Of huge
,,ocks uron the shore. In this great labor '
he results AZ Rockets exceed those Of the
,pc-1IicoS at New 1ork under the distin. {
.ui-iiad engineer NEWTON. There, With eic-
'rL thousand p0uuds Of Di;ro-glycer!ne, only
tx thousand ions of rock were removed, ]
While 1T Rockets. with only seven hundred
nd tnir;y.six poundD Of nitro-elycerine, {
hrcc thousand tons OF rock have been re-
moved al cost OF only twelve thousand do
80.
re dredging operations seem to be going
ahead actively. The largest dredge fills six
ccn boxes, each holding two cubic yards OF
sand. in fifteen minutes. They rest upon q
lighter, which is soon towad ashore by the
tug in waiting, and there dumped behind the
c Ike built to receive the sand.
The length of river disturbed BY the bars
is three miles and half. The depth OF water
in that distance il irregular. che most Of it
is deep enough, O"t here and there sre bars
which ere easily removed, there being no
rock 3pon them 10 impede the dredging.
TIE iEifet;'eei shore, iyr The DIS ance named
src generally Strengthened hy lanes Ct dyke,
behind which the sand and debris drcdScd /
from the river are thrown. Major TURIN |
j. satisfied tina. this strengthening Of the
saOI'~ W kac TtsSt viii 'ni SS IhS >Si.>N' -
deepen the bed. aud facilitate the work OF
opening the channel to the needed dep't.
Uaiy short time, the Major says, VIII DC
rcquirc( to deepen the river TO the grade
obtained at Rockets, when vessels drawing
,;;;een feet can surely reach the wharyes
there.
But there is want Of hosting apparatus to
dispose OF the debris as fast as raised by the
d edges; and this want should be promptly
supplied by the Council. Clearly, the Coun.
Gil should increase the whole dredging force
i'll order that the river shall be deepened TO
u regular depth from Rockets to below all
distractions. This work is vital TO our trade.
No obstruction, no delay, should be per-
United here. Not n pound of freight should
be allowed to go elsewhere to seek place
OF shipment, while this port is the nearest
and most accessible TO it. The greater the
facilities for through shipment the greater
Will be the amount OF freight stopping here
and entering into our trade and manulac.
lures. -
Ihe capacity Of the river will lie soon
brought to fifteen feet, and that will be sut-
tc'ent to prevent siuslc pound of freight
from going east of Richmond to seek shin.
'nen'. But We are informed that in due
time, with means, the channel NAV be
brought TO depth of twenty feet from
Richmond TO fiamDtOn Roads Tho ,nodo,