Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1881-07-12
MR. DIssrON's GREAT SCHEME.
Formal Organization of the COmpa-
my that is 20 Reclaim Florida.
PhtladeIphta Ledger.

Phttd0etphtd Ledger.
A northeast corner of Third and
Chestnut streets was established yester-
day the Office of one of the boldest en-
terprises ever undertaken in America.
Conspicuous in the management is Mr..
Hamilton Disston, head of the great saw
works. Ex-Mayor Stokley is President
and Mr.. Disston Treasurer of the new
company, which starts under the rather
long title of the Atlantic and Gulf
Coast Canal and Okeechobee Land Com
pany" Engineers have been sent to
Florida, the surveys made under the
auspices of the National Government
have been verified by the company,
three large dredges are now on the
way to Jacksonville, and work is to be
pushed with vigor. The daring and I'M.
mensity of this scheme may be inferred
from the fact that the territory In ques-
ton exceeds by thousand square miles
all of the land included In the tour
States Of Rhode Island, Connecticut,
New Jersey and Delaware. The COM
pany intends to open up over seventeen
thousand square miles of the most tropi-
cal portion of the most tropical State in
the Union. The engineering features of
the work are interesting, a report upon
the subject having just been issued by
Mr.. James NJ. Kramer, @. E.
Lake Okeechobee is the grand inland
reservoir for the waters of Middle Flor
ida, having no natural or direct outlet.
The principal feeder to it is the Kissim-
NEE river, which pOurs in constant
supply of 207, 10000 cubic feet of
water every twenty four hours. The
amount of evaporation from water sur
faces exposed to sun and wind is set
down in the books at the rate of from
one-eighth to three-eighths of an inch per
day, according to conditions. Lake
Okeechobee having an area OF 1000
square miles, the evaporation from the
surface of the lake aggregates, at the
lowest rate, 300, 400, 600 cubic feet
of water, which is more than one
third in excess of the supply from the
main feeder During the ordinary sea-
sons, and particularly during periods of
drought, the level of the water in the
lake is lowered, the surrounding land
becomes in a measure passable, and
large herds of cattle obtain excellent pas
luIdSC III LuC chAA AoA0D
of the interior Then when the rainy
season comes. four months in the year,
the waters of the lake gradually rise,
overflow the immense tracts of sugar
land, the soil of which is identical to
that of Cuba, and back up the waters of
the rivers emptying into the lake. 1t is
the purpose of the company just formed
to permanently lower the surface of
Lake Okeechobee, which, according to
the United States survey of 1879, is
twenty five feet above mean low tide,
by constructing drainage canal
twenty-one miles in length to the st.
Lucie river at a waterfall of one
foot mile. This plan is similar to that
recommended by Colonel Meigs to the
National Government in 1879. In the
proposed canal this waterfall will give
velocity of two and two-thirds miles per
hour, and capacity of passing 7S3, 708,.
800 cubic feet in twenty four hours.
Three steam dredging machines of the
Menge patent, constructed on the con-
tInuOus ladder principle, and resembling
the buckets in q grain elevator, are now
being put together at Jacksonville, the
bulls being already in shape. Each
dredge will be capable of making clean
cut Of % feet in width. The dredges
will be dashed in pairs, so that at one
operation they will open canal A feet
wide To dig the canal from Lake
Okeechobee to the st. IIucie river will
require the excavation of 5000 900 cubic
yards, which, at the rate of 2 cents a
yard (the Menge fgure), will amount to
$3.50, 1874, and at an outside figure of 5
II 40 GAR1 QOR
In addition TO this canal it is the de-
sign to build another canal from Lake
Okeechobee to the CaloOsahatchie river,
emptying into the Gulf; also to deepen
and strengthen the streams emptying in
to Lake Okeechobee, to dig lateral ca
nails or bitches, and at various points to
tap the ridge separating the saw grass
marshes from the Atlantic and the Gulf,
thus draining the remotest sections OF that
great regian.
The area of land reclaimed will en-
brace every class of Florida land, in
Guiding thigh and low hammock, "
first, second and third rate pine" and
swamp lands" and under the terms
of the contract between the company
and the State of Florida, one half of the
s. OOO, 600 acres to be reclaimed by the
lowering of the lake waters will revert
to the company. Valuable deposits of
hematite ore and mari are also reported.
The same company has bought the
franchise of the Atlantic Coast Steam
boat, Canal and Improvement Company
for the construction of siXty-one miles
of canal which, by linking the waters of
the rivers and sounds skirtlng the east
ern front of Florida. opens up nearly $50
miles of continuous inland navigation,
connecting the St. John river with Lake
Worth and developing huge stretch of
land which has been neglected simply
because it was not accessible and
which produces crops of the widest
scope, embracing tropical and semi
tropical fruits and fibrous plants, and
maturing to a degree developed at no
other point in the United States. The
cost of building these canals with labor
saving appliances Is placed at $203, 1884,
and with the dredges now building can
be completed in nine months. In con-
sideration of this work the company will
receive land grants of 400, 900 acres i'm
mediately adjoining the canal. 1t is ex-
pected that both lines of canal, measur-
ing eighty-two miles in all, will be COM
pleted within fifteen months.
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The Philadelphia Times suggests that