The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1877-12-13
a MARHEL OF ENGINEERING.
The Draining Of The Flcine Lake in Italy at
a Cost of $10,000,0O0.
from the New York Sun.


A work equal in difficulty and magni-
tude to the projected drainage ofthe Huy-
der Zee has been accomplished in Italy,
only some auxiliary operation of minor
consequence still awaiting completion,
We refer to the draining Of the Fucine
lake, executed by the Prince Torlonia,an
undertaking which has exacted the labor
of twenty-five years and an outlay of ten
million dollars. By this achievement
forty thousand acres of rich land have
been opened to tillage, and scheme
which had vainly taxed the resources of
the ancient Roman empire is translated
into fact. The Fucine lake and the noun
tain.locked basin of which until lately it
engrossed the larger palt tbs better known
to the student than to the traveller. The
r2gion is singularly difficult of access, ly-
ing as it does in the exact heart ofthe Ital-
ian peninsula and imbedded in the Apen.
nine chain. No modern railway has re-
placed the Valerian road which traversed
the district eighteen centuries ago. When
this great highway was built across the
mountains by Claudius Caesar the edge of
the lake was dotted with thriving towns
and its fruitful slopes formed one of the
granaries of Rome. 1t was in the reign
OF the same Emperor that the design of
sluiCing off the waters of the Fucine Cis-
tern was adopted and the notorious freed
man, Narcissus, was charged with the con-
duct of the enterprise.
The FuCine lake was vast reservoir,
replenished by the rainfall and number
of streams, but without any natural outlet,
Evacuation, therefore, by dredging and
deepening an existing channel was plain
ly out OF the question. Some three miles,
however, to the northwest runs the river
Liri, at an altitude much lower than that
of the basin. 1t is true that the high
mountain of SalViano rears its bulk be.
tween the river and the lake; this obsta-
Gle the engineers of Claudius proposed to
surmount by piercing the hills at depth
ofsome three hundred yards. According
ly, the head of the sluice on the north
west rim ofthe cistern was fixed at point
twenty-five yards above the bottom of
the Liri, while the mouth being opened
about thirteen yards above the river bed ,
there resulted total incline of nine yards
in course of three and half miles,
Thirty thousand workmen are said to
have been employed for eleven years in
the undertaking, and the tunnel was act
ually constructed, butso imperfectly that
an attempt to draw off the waters of the
reservoir entailed catastrophe which
went near to ruin the imperial favorite.
Neglected in the middle ages, the Ro-
man works lost even this measure of eff.
cheney, the waters of the basin recovered
their ancient area and the periodical in
undations wrought widespread destruc-
ton. 1t was one Of these calamities, the
terrible flood of 1915, which reused
the Neapolitan Government to attempt
the repair of the old culVert. But the
task was onerous and the outlay stinted,
and the sluiCe was scarcely opened when
the freshet Of 1851 burst the locks and
blocked up large section ofthe channel
under an avalanche of earth and stones.
When therefore, company was organ.
lied with view of draining the basin, it
soon appeared that the scheme presented
difficulties far exceeding their expecta-
tions or their resources. Accordingly, the
Prince Torlonia, who had subscribed for
one.half of the stock, now purchased the
remainder. and, obtaining formal con-
Cession ofall land to be recovered under
took the work at his own expense.
The economical fruits of the enterprise
can be stated in few words. To the es-
tablishment of public security should be
added the direct enrichment of the pop
ulation. An upper belt of the redeemed
territory presenting total surface of sew
en- thousand acres has been abandoned
to the owners of land adjacent to the
former shore. The amount of arabic soil
acquired by Prince Torlonia, and now for
the first time incorporated with the pro-
ductive area of Italy, is not less than
thirty.fve thousand acres, or, deducting
the quantity included within the reser-
yoir, which, however, can be titled in or
dinary years, he may still have under
cultivation twenty-eight thousand acres
Of virgin land. From whatever point of
view this exploit Of modern engineering
is regarded, its Importance is capital, and
1t is clear that the private individual
whose name is linked with the achieve
ment has secured solid title to remem-
brance among his countrymen.