The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1877-04-29
Seaports Forsaken by the Sea.

Seaports Forsakcn by the Sea.
A curious chapter in the history of COM
mcrco might Toe based on the changes
wrought in the coast line of Europe 10y the
recession of the sea and the formation ~
dcltas. New light has been thrown on
the subject by the recent lahors Of Dutch,
French, and Italian engineers, and n few
facts may be worth noting, since n sort of
romantic interest attaches to a stranded
city, to haven once busy and famous, but
now left high and dry.
One result Of the notable scheme now
under way. 10y which the southern half Of
the Zuydcr Dee Is 10 bc transformed into firm
land, cut by humorous ship canals, will hc
resurrection Of some Dutch cities whose
commercial activity had long ago shruuN To-
a tradition. When the i-thmus which had
previously shut of the Zuydcr gull from the
Flcvo lake was broken down 10y the great in
flow Of the German Ocean in 1895. the vii
lagos dotting the rims II the latter basin
soon developed into prosperous ports. III
the seventeenth century towns whose names
sound strange TO us-Ellm. Naardcn,
HORN, Kampen and Acknowledgment
no mean quotas t. the fleet which
VAN TaoMP marshalod in the Tex
cl TO sweep the English channel But
from causes among which the sediment
deposited by arms Of the Hhin, seems TO
have been most active. the waters 81 the
Zlyder gradually Swallowed, navigation
wa. impcdcd 10y bars ami i~let-. whil'' "a vail
If sand or marsh blocked approach to- some
If the old harburs Thu- il came 10 pms
that trade was centralized toward the close
of the last century at Amsterdam and Rot
tcrdam which had other and better means
Of access to the sea, and the dsfranchiscd
Ravens above named became known a. the
dead towns Of Holland.
More impressive and moro hopeless j. the
fate # their French couutorpaIt--th dead
cities Il the Gulf of Lyon--D which a
! French engineer NJ. CHARLES LENrHERic.
! has lately made a careful study. We need
not point out that the coast If the M,dltrr-
rancan between Genoa aud the Pyroncc-
naturally divides itself inur tou--coti,;,-
which offer striking contrast. From Nice
to Marscillcs all l. life and movement; the
whole world seems To- seek this happy coun-
try, which knows no winter and prolicrs at
once pleasure and health. On the other hand
from Marscilles 10 the Spanish border you
encounter almost everywhere solitude and
dcsolation. 1t il nature and not the havoc
Of medieval wars, or any change OF
mans contriving. which has blightei the
shore Of Langucdoc. ii its dropping towns
were formerly 50 prosperous, II was lccau-,
they derived from a maritime situation ad
Vantage5 Of which time has stripped them
Narbonne, for instance, in the Roman epoch
! communicated directly with the sea. Lik,
Venice, it had its lagoon sown thick will
islands, between which a deep, winding
channel gave access to the hulls Of com
merce and the trircmcs Of the imperial fleet
In our day the lagoon is dry, the sea has
vanished and the city has wholly ceased /,
bc be an entrcpot Of trade. The lot Of rci
has not been much luckicr. II used to stanr
at the head Of sort of inland basin, which
was the seat Of an incredible mercantile
activity. 1t had two ports like AleXan
dria, one Of which received the larg
sea gong vessels conveying the staple
of the East while the other was the rcndo2
vous for the notilla Of the Rhonc and tn
Durancc, which brought the emporium il
contact with Lyons and the central ogioi
1t was this fortunate position which mad
the town So rich and populous that poet &
the fourth century called it the Rome q
GAul. But the broad estuary gradual
shrank. The seventeen million cubic yard
Of sediment which, according TO NJ Les
THEKlC, the Rhonc deposits every year, hav
converted the double harbor into swamp
and mcadows,and with its maritime trade til
bright days Of Aries have departed. \ lik
eclipse has been experienced by Maguclon
ali all Ia. .4tft
which once enlivcnrd the sphere of what tn
Romans called par excellence the Provin"
Life seems to have once for all folsaken mi
turmcnted and shifting soil, and there -no
hardly strip OF coast in Europe moro u
| terly fOrlorn. We may note in the san
neighborhood one more type of littora ma
tation in the shabby Catalan town Of Mu
Niedro, which, as its name implies, is rcare
on the" old walls" Of no less n seaport tina
} Sagmtum A part of the ancient theatre
, still standing, but from its upper tier, lool
= ing seward, the eye finds olive trees M
= waving grain whore the Punic galleys roc
j when HANNIBAL fell upon the city.
The Rhonc Is emphatlcally what ii
+ French call workman river" aud II
G computed that the two great promontor
5 which mark the angles OF its delta adyan
h into the sea at the mean annual rate
Il sevcnty-ilVc yards. A double line Of tower
t at once signals and dcicnces, marks Il
t gradual and secular prolongation of {
d banks Of the stream, and it is worth rcma
g that one Of these, that of st. Louis, built
II the edge Of the shore in 1897, Is now 10
y miles inland. In like manner the prosr'
!, sion of thr lilcr'5 delta is measured 10y t
h. obu,erntion OF the ancient ports Of IRAJ