Wilmington daily commercial., 1876-05-13
New orleans Sketches.
DWELLING HOUSES TREET-cARs-aARDENs
-EADss JETTIEs.

DWELLING HOUSES -sTREET-oARs-dARDE
-EADs's JETTIEs.
Edward Everett Hale has been in New
Orleans-perhaps for nearer view of the
scene of his iust-unfolding story "Show
Your Passports "-and he writes his obser-
yations to the Boston Advertiser. The
system OF street railroads, he says, is
well-nigh perfect. Mr.. Richards will say 30,
when 1 add that in ten days time l have
heard no person, citizen or stranger, make
any complaint as to it's admlnistration-an
the patrons Of street cars are known to
be hard crew to please. You will see that
on surface as level as the sea it is easy to
run the cars. Cars almost as large as ours
are drawn readily by one mule. On the
Carrolton lines dummies are attached, when
tho cars have left the most crowded parts
of the town. These dummies, however, do
not have the disadvantage of heating the
cars, for they do not carry their fire with
them. They are charged with compressed
steam at stationary boiler at Carrolton, and
complete tour Of six miles before they are
charged again. They run rapidly, are under
easy control, and are said to do almost the
work of two mules at the expense Of one. L
was particularly interested in this arrange
ment because remembered Colonel Ingham
described a system of stationery engines
for the same purpose in Sybaris, which rail
road men in Boston have thought difficult
of execution.
These street railways distribute the pop
ulation easily over a large surface, so large
that almost every house has it's garden. The
CITY, indeed, is a city of gardens, and at this
season nothing can be conceived more
beautiful. The typical house-if may so
Speaks one story high and that story
very high 1t stands on columns which lift
it several feet above the ground, and, as in
Hygeia, free circulation of air takes place
beneath Sometimes this house is as large
as seventy five feet square. The typical
house would be surrounded with verandahs
ten or twelve feet deep. They are here
called galleries. The complete shade af-
forded by these makes the house itself cool
even when the sun is powerful. You car
readily imngine how much people will use
the galleries themselves almost as if apart
ments.
Around this house there is a garden
Land is still 30 cheap that every body is able
to have garden and the taste OF place o.
climate seems to tempt every one that way
At this season the gardens are perfectly
beautiful. Roses are in their prime, somt
varieties of oranges are in bloom, oleander
and pomegranates are coming into bloom
and the magnolia is in its perfection. TIT
air is fragrant wherever you go. The tenn
perature is just what we should have il
early June if We were sure to have no cas-
wind.
OF course the typical house varies in fact
Many of the larger and more comfortabl
houses are built two stories high-neve
more. Always, of COURSE the roofs of tn
one story houses admit spacious chamber
above. What mean to say ls, that tn
general plan OF house architecture is ser
arate house open on all sides and below
and the stairs are regarded as the abomlna
ton which in fact they are.
AS to Colonel Eads' jetties, which are c
are not to open the Mississippi to the nav
cation of the largest vessels, you have th
most opposite opinions. There are two pal
ties worldwide apart The accomplishe
engineers of the United States governmer
have, in general, never believed in tn
plan,I think. Colonel Eads' success in otht
enterprises, has, perhaps, led the civil OF
gineers of the country to look favorabl
upon it, Certainly large mercantile inte
est in st. Louis, which has embarked in th
new enterprise, means to have it succee'
if prophesying will command success.
The plan is simply to erect jetties
tiIaAer aud woven wood, which shall narro
the current of the South Pass, go as to Il
crease its force. 1t is claimed that the Il
creased force will sweep out the sand belo
80 as to deepen the channel permanent
1t already begins to do 80 and from wee
to week you get accounts of deeper al
deeper water. So far so good. But will n,
the sediment be dropped in bar or on ti
channel lower down This is the qeestio
Oddly enough, it is question the answ
to which rests on question of fact. 5
Charles Lyell, after visiting the mouth
the river pronounced carefully that Il
Mississippi pushed its mouth forward on
one mile III century,-about hfty-two re
a year. He made this statement in an a
dress before the British Association. Bea
mont, in his practical geology, relying
Michel Ohevalier's observations, which we
probably quite as good as Lyells, says t
advance is quarter Of mile year. l
tween such extremes do the doctors d
agree. II Lyell's view were correct. t
jetties might be worth building. II Bea
monts were correct, they would be left
behind before they we're well paid for.
Probably neither extreme is CORE
Working from the very accurate results
the coast survey, Thonoassy, an admiral
Informed writer, calculated the advance
1855 His result was, that the mouth
the river gained on the Gulf one mile
sixteen years. This WAS the result OF
years,-that the mouth was nine miles me
at sea than in La Salle's day. An advar
even as slow as this would materially int
fere with the jetties.
/ should be loath to decide where doct
differ. But, relying little on the word
one who saw through the Hoosac tun
before it was bored, 1 venture the proph'
that Colonel Eads' Mississippi speculat
will rank in the future with John Lay
E. e. q