The Republican journal., 1897-05-27
To Shut Out the East Wind.
anu thange the Climate Of New England. A
Boston Mans Scheme

| oo "ieeiation OF the climate OF great
1ength OF the sea coast, says the New
nork journal, is that which is seriously
suggested by Mr.. F. S. Hammond of
Boston, "a gentleman with maritime and
engineering experience. The results he
aims at are stupendous, yet he saws thew
can be attained at comparatively slight ex.
pense in less than year. Bya single en-
gineerlng construction, which, he saws.
should be built by the United States
canada and Great Britain, acting together.
MI. Hammond proposes
| Flrst-To destroy the dreaded east
winds OF Boston.
Second-To change the climate of the
New England States to that of New Jersey
and New York.
Ihlrd-To give the maritime provinces
OF Canada mild and genial climate.
Fourth-To make Labrador habitable.
Fl1th-Io reduce the transatlantic vow
| age to 1-2 days.
Sixth-To keep Canadian ports open all
| the year round.
NO such stupendous results as these
nave ever been achieved by any one en-
glneenng work. Yet, according to Mr..
+. ). Hammond, all that is needed to
secure them is an embankment no longer
| than nine miles and with depth of less
| NAioAA wv ASSl' LIS reimbursement, saws
Mr.. Hammond in letter to the journal.
should be built across the Strait of Belle
Isle, which separates Labrador from New
| foundland. Such an obstruction would
| completely close the strait of Belle Isle to
| navigation, rendering it impossible Yet
this would be no hardship, as it is now but
little used, and the climate there is so in
clement and the commerce SO meagre that
there are no towns or villages of impor-
lance facing those waters.
On the other hand, the change which
would be wrought by blocking up the
Strait of Belle Isle at it's narrowest part
that is between Point Armour light, on
the Labrador shore, and West Point, on
the Newfoundland shore-would be very
great. glance at the map will show
that the Strait of Belle Isle is a narrow
passage of water emptying from the north
into the Gulf of st Lawrence.
IT HAS AN EVIL INFLUENCE.
1t has long been known that this strait
has exercised an evil influence on the eli
mate of the Gulf of St. Lawrence, pouring
into the Gulf the icy waters of the Arctic
and affecting the whole of the Labrador
and Newfoundland shores. Recent ex-
periments made for the marine department
of the Dominion government show that
the current in the Strait of Belle Isle is
fundamentally tidal, running about two
knots in either direction. Frequently,
however, icebergs standing at the en-
trance of the Strait of Belle Isle have par
TALLY blocked the channel. In the ice
berg season there is generally large col
lection of bergs about the northern en-
trance to the Strait of Belle Isle, but
none except the very smallest has ever
been able to pass through the strait. The
reason for this is that the strait is com
paratively shallow, its average depth in
the narrowest part being less than 100
feet.
Mr.. Hammond has pointed out that the
cold Arctic current, which comes from
the polar regions through Batfins Bay and
Davis Strait, and which carries all the
large icebergs into the Atlantic ocean.
empties much of its water through the
Strait of Belle Isle into the Gulf of ST.
Lawrence. This huge Arctic current,
which comes direct from the polar re-
gions, is the northern counterpart OF the
gulf stream, but instead Of being temper
ate it is icy cold.
Wherever the cold, icy current from
the north enters the oceans of the world,
there fogs and mists are created, the air
is always chilly, and climatic conditions
are created that are extremely injurious
to health The reason for the almost per-
petual fogs to be found on the banks Of
Newfoundland is that it is at this point
that the icy current OF the north meets
the warm waters of the Atlantic ocean.
| The reason fogs are to be found in the
Gulf of st. Lawrence is that the icy cur
rent from the north is carried into the
gulf through the Strait of Belle Isle, back
of the island of Newfoundland. All OF
this, says Nh Hammond. would be
changed by the building of the embank-
ment across the Strait of Belle Isle at its
narrowest part.
WOULD BE NO MORE EAST WIND.
But much more interesting is the
change which he says such construction
would effect in the climate of the New
England States. AS is well known, Bos-
tons climate is peculiar because OF the
east winds blowing Off the ocean that are
singularly penetrating and chilling. The
reason for this is that Boston receives
| part of the icy northern current that
comes from Davis Strait drought the
Strait of Belle Isle, but which never
reaches New York, as it is diverted into
the ocean by the point of Cape Cod and
| disappears about Nantucket. 1t is this
| icy northern current, says Mr.. Hammond,
which gives the whole of its climatic
peculiarly to the New England States.
The amazing GOODNESS of the water at Bar
Harbor, where sea bathing is impossible
| during the hottest days in summer, is one
result of the current flowing through the
| Strait of Belle Isle.
| Another result pointed out by Mr. Ham
mond is the penetrating GOODNESS of the
| New England winter, especially along the
sea coast. The whole of the province of
| New Brunswick is affected by the north
ern current. The ports of eastern Can
ada are rendered practically helpless dur
ing six months of the year by ice forming
in the harbors, and this, says Mr.. Ham
mond, is the result of the current flowing
down through the Strait of Belle Isle,
while Prince Edward Island, Labrador
and the whole of Newfoundland are al
most frozen up by the same cause.
Dam up the Strait of Belle Isle, says
Mr.. Hammond, and you at once change
the climate of all these vast regions by re-
moving the cause of their GOODNESS. The
waters which flow through the Strait into
| the Gulf of st. Lawrence now cling close
to the coast southwark until they are
shunted into the Atlantic by Cape Cod,
| which alone seems to protect New York
1 from their avi1 influence