The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1896-02-15
I'm the Wonderland
OF North America.
Twenty-Seventh Letter OF Northwestern Travel.
Seattle's Ship Canal and Tide Flats.

The streets generally are t0be 100 feet
wide and the avenues are of widths
verging from l2O to 80 feet. The
thirty-twO miles Of Shore-line are par
alleled by receiving streets from the
uplands.
The Destructive Torejo Worm.
The waters of Puget Sound, like all
salt water harbOrs, are infested with
the "teredo.' which is SO destructive
TO wood that the maintenance of
wharves and trestles is expensive. The
teredo worm often destroys piling with
in a single year after driving, so that
the wharf goes down. with loss of Its
entire stores and sometimes with loss
of life. In the fresh waters of the lake,
piling will last practically without I'm
il, for ii is well-known fact that
teredos cannot exist where fresh wat
er flows in any considerable volume.
The saving in the cost of maintaining
docks and wharves alone would far
more than repay the cost Of construct
ing the ship canal. In fact, the actual
cost of filling the tide-flats and making
the same solid ground. Is less than the
expense of building the wooden plat
forms, wharfS, etc. now in this har-
Dor.
Upon estimates of leading bridge and
wharf builders, ii costs to pile and
plank one acre OF ground on the flats,
$3.50. while the cost of filling the flats
under the present contract with the
state and waterway company, VIII
range from 81 600 to 81. 900 per acre, ac-
cording 10 the depth OF the ill. About
nine miles of bulkhead will be con-
structed along the harbor and the
banks of the waterways. where an
enormous quantity of wood material
viii be used. viz: $1,000 piles, 10000 tie
back poles and 10000 cords or brush,
the brush being necessary " catch ana
hold the sand that II mag become thor
oughly imbedded-which forms the best
protection to the banks possible. i'm
pervious to the teredo. and next In
permanency to a sea wall
Another argument is that ships be-
come foul i'm salt water and very fire.
quently have to go into dry dock and
have their bottoms clea ned of barnacles
and other parasites at large cost.
Both iron and steel bottoms are subject
alike in salt water to this marine
growth which adheres to them and
greatly impairs their efficiency. The
speed of an iron ship Is often reduced
one-half by the presence OF grass and
other accretions. Fresh water destroys
marine growths and prevents their for
nation. Barnacles and grass which
cover vessels bottom in salt water
to the weight Of many tons. are killed
by few days In fresh water and Will
drop of. or may be removed easily with
scrapers. So advantageous to iron
shipping Is an accessible body of fresh
water, that masters of vessels regard
1t as of Importance, next to cheap fuel,
at ports of arrival~-ffOin sea voyages.
One of the material advantages named
In favor af>building the Nicaraguan ca
pai'is the fact that great fresh water
lake lies midway Of the canal route and
that ships will pass through 1t in their
progress from ocean to ocean ana may
avail themselves Of it's waters for free
ing their bottoms from marine accre-
tions. .-.
This applies strongly to Seattle har-
bor With u ship canal Joining the
fresh waters of Lake washington with
Puget Sound. the advantages for ship
ping would be ideal and superior to
those of all other ports of the Pacific
coas. and make Seattle pre-eminent In
facilities for shipping among the ports
of the world.
Think of it! A vessel could come from
any port to her dock, pass through the
ship canal into fresh water undisturbed
by tidal flow. and while discharging
cargo her bottom would be cleared OF
it's burden of barnacleS and grass, with
out the delay and expense of docking.
She would thus save two or three days
time as well az considerable expense.
The demurrage alone thus avoided
would aggregate for the tonnage enter
ing the port a large sum each year. 1t
can readily be seen that this canal when
constructed will give Seattle the light
est dues and cheapest dockage In the
world, while an advantage of vast i'm
portarce to the city would be shared
by the other country whose products
pass through the port OF Seattle. Be-
sides the many miles Of new shore line
on the sound available for wharves and
nve "A
more than fifty miles to the fresh water
dock front of Seattle and increase her
harbor capacity ten fold.
j. E. Richmond.