New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1888-12-16

at largo discount, the total amount OF obga'ons' i
1887 being 5000 sos 800 which had produced In cash
only S1s0546,740; the annual charge for ih'crcs'
with that for the sinking fund, Is Sl3,34".Vo Inc
total OF tho work. allowing 10 per cent lor co
ungencies was estimated in 1880 at Sl6o,' 4o'ooo
but the actual expenditure up to June 80 1887 was
$3.50 900 600 ard yet tho work was little more thah
begun begun p .,.o, uovo member Of the Institute of
Cvl Engineers London, read paper before the Iir'
and Mechanical Engineers Society on Mach 50 IT,
In which be gave account, from personal inspee,,
ton, Of the technical processes applied IN the caa
works. and pointed out that there was much waste vi
money and of valuable " plant omituns some "
marks TO Inc latter effect because the faults he noticed
NAV possibly have been amended since the date OF
his visit TO the scene, and further progress nus h
been effected, make the following extracts
At Colon The enil ancc to the canal has been con-
structed by making embsnkment Whlch proIects ~
from the north winds. ana has lpclaru ,,ie
ment called ChrisOphe COlomb has been pul,. fiOlH
the entrance the canal has been dedged TO aeph oi
SIX metres for length Of four and half Alonerce anu
Is omen for small steamers. Three very powerful
steam dredges are at work deepening ,he cahat
ground almost untouched owing TO disputes win inc
contractors Then comes length or SIX kilometres On
the old bed of the Chagres where dedgers are az en
deepening These dredges have power Oh ICY
horse power and raise about 5000 cubic metres IN the
twenty -four hours This seemed TO me to De te pest
conducted work on the canal FROM TINS on an tio
carte I'm the cuttings moved by hand labor with thc
narrow gauge railway known as the ID C@uvie', or
by the steam navy or excavator with fullsiIe rail-
way wagons The engineers advocate the latter, be-
cause they can get more work done; but some OF
steam NAVY osgood at work on the Tabcmilla
ton inov-s 800 T. )6O cubic metres In len hours ms
section is almost level. At Buhio soldado hill Of
by immense blasts Of dynamite. After 1aDemIla
way. and turning bridge will have to be constructed
A few kilometres beyond this point comes Gam0oa,
where the reseSr ws to be- ane
canal. The length Of the cutting is 800 metres and
ia of
average for the total length is eighty eight metres
line, but the height of the summit Of one Of tho
slopes The latter are one 10 one and the width az
quantity of earth to be moved is 20OOoO00 cubic
metres. At the time Of my visit little work was
worked in stems and used the small gauge Decauve
had seventeen, at work. Up, to date about one
90 Se c nai IN be $40
This has been the work of six years or course
much had to be done in work such as
s sssmaiea that i. viii require # me ne
difficulties of this immonso cutting are greatly en-,
mart COMPOSED of basst rocRsdoomteNw bands
Of sand intervening. Several slips have occurred
and occasoned much trouble THIS poin Is the water
this 10 Panama the Canal is cut through compare
lively easy ground The only difficulties the dcvi-
For some kilometres before reaching the Pacific,
the canal runs through swampy ground very little
above the sea level and eventually Joins the at
La Boca the mouth Of the Rio Grande. UnfOrtuna "
the water very shallow here and the last five ko
metres have to be dredgcd through a bed Of sand
forming wide bar at the mouth of the river. Three
powerful dredges of the Gouro pattern able to raise
$50 tons per hour. are here at work When the
canal commenced the necessity OF locks and
gates was suggested owing TO the difference Of tide
between the two oceans The Atlantic tide at Colon
rises two feet whereas the Pacific at Panama rises
twenty feet II has been ascertaned that at 10 =
the level of the Pacific ocean is ten and hac
feet below the Atlantic The last proposal TO obvate
the ebb and flow of the Pacific tide was to construc'
a basin near the Pacific end 1000 metres long by
500 metres wide lined with strong quay walls and
gates on the Colon side which would be opened
high water The cost of this work was estimated 9.
$40. 900 900. This, well other projects. has
been shelved for tho time and the present intention Is
to construct open canal from end to end Us
entire length including the channel dredged IN me
the width at bottom, 70 feet at the top, 131 fee&
and the depth Of water % feet inches