The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1877-12-06


draining of the Fucinc lake, executed by the
Prince ToRLoNA. an undertaking which
has cxacted 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 tillagc, and
scheme which had vainly taxed the re-
sources of the ancient Roman empire is
translated into fact
The Fucnc lake. and the mountain-lockcd
basin of which until lately it cngroescd the
larger part, IL better known To the student
than to the traveller. The region is singu-
larry diilirult uf access, lying as Il docs In
the exact heart Of the Italian peninsula. and
embedded in the Apcnnnc chain No mod
crn railway has replaced the Nalcrian road
which traVcrScd the district eighteen cen
turics ago. When this great highway was
built across the mountains ~ CLAUDIus
| CESAR, the edge of the lake was dotted with
thriving towns. and it, fruitful slopes
| formed one Of the granarie- Of Rome. II
was III the reign Of the same Emperor that
the design of sluicing off the waters of the
Fucinc cistcru was adopted. and the notOri-
Gus freedman. NARCISsUs, waS charged with
the conduct Of the enterprise. lnasmuch A.
the main outlines OF the plan conceived and
brought Ia the verge of fulilmcnt by the
Roman engineers have boon followed in the
modern works, II may be we'll to mark ,hc
physical conditions OF the problem,
The Fucinc lake w. vast reservoir re-
plcr...-ucr by tho rainfall and II number Of
mountain streams. but without any natural
outlet Evacuation. therefore, by dredging
and deepening an existing channel was
plainly out II the question Some three
miles, however, to ia" northwest runs the
river Liri. at an attitude much lower than
that If the basin. II is true that the high
mountain Of SalNiano rears its bulk between
/ the river and the lake, but thir obstacle the
engineers OF CLAUDIUs proposed 10 sur
mount by piercing the hill at n depth of
some three hundred yards. Accordingly,
| the head of the slucc on the northwest rim
OF the cistern was fixed at n point twenty
| two yards above the bottom of the Liri,
while the mouth being opened about thir-
teen yards above the river bed there result
ed total incline Of nine yards in a course
OF three and half miles Thirty Thousand
workmcn are said 70 have been employed
for eleven years in the Undertaking, and the
tunnel wa actually constructed, tut 50 i'm
perfectly that an attempt to draw of the
~ II
phe which went near to ruin the imperial
favoritc. 1t would seem that NARcIssUs
had nothing To- learn from public servants
OF our day. for he was accused Of cmbez-
cling gigantic sums through collision with
the contractors Il appears, however, that
at later period under the Emperor ia
DRlAS, the sluicc was SO far turned to ne
count ~ to considerably lower the level Of
the lake
Neglected in the middle ages, the Roman
works lost even this measure Oi efficiency,
the waters of the basin recovered their
ancient area, and the periodical inundatiOns
wrought widespread destruction. II was
one Of these calamities the terrible Hood of
1916, which reused the Noapclitan Govern
mont to attempt tn" repair of the old cul-
vert. But the tnek was onorous and the
outlay stntod, and IA" sluice was scarcely
opened when the lrcshe' of 1901 burst the
locks and blocked up a large section of the
chiuni under an Il 5i-if4+-- :
stones. Whom. therefore. company WIS
organized with view of uraioin., the baslu.
it soon appeared tbat the echcmc presented
dilli.sliln. far exceeding tilolr oNpofatious
or their RESOURCES. Accordingly, the Prince
IOIIoNIA. who had eIl-crlhod iOr one hali
of the stock now purchased the remainder
and obtaining formal concession Of al
land 10 be recovered undertook tho work nj
his own expense
The French engineers who wcrc succcs-
siycy charged with the management Of the
operations. did not coufnc themselves 10 n
reconstruction OF the oid tunnel. thcir oh-
Joct being not To circumscrihe the lake
within the bounds maintained IN lIADIAN's
time but e. convert the entire Fucinc haslf
into dry, arabic hand In the main the OK
CavatonS followed the line OF the fOrmel
conduit but the walls were stra ghtcnc,
, and greatly enlarged, the inclination o
, the floor regulated, and the passage d@'p
oucd throughout it, course, being, for in
, stance, on the lake side at least ten fee
. lower than the head of the Roman rlulco
On the whole it may bo said that the chic
+ advantage derived from the ancient work.
lay m the numerous air wclp and vcutila
tlon galleries hcwn in the rock hundreds O
feet below the surface of the mountain
Against this should bo set an almost iua,,
3 poIahle obstacle, due to the presence OF tn
e old tunnel namely, vast subtorranoa
p rosoi vor formed IN the uppor section by
| myIng in Of the willis. ascribod 10 the froe,ho
\ Of lHjL Incredible patience and yisllanc
t were requisite la horiug hcn'ath this incun
o bent mass Of waters, aud the success wit
which the contents OF this underground ois
I tern were gradually onptod eonst.t uLos
notable feature OF the enterprise,
e hftor many and grave Weiss tudos, nj.
j. after two partial excavations effected b
'- tapping the take Mt points above the ira
II head Of the sluic", the tabor ~ t"outy year
q drew to II close. On the 22d OF Januprl
r 1870, the main tunncl Was opened, and by Tin
II end OF June. 1870 the bottom of the b,.si
h Was uncovered, and the fucinc lake Ind ti'
n appeared Nothing was lett OF tho grou