The Fulton County news. [volume] (McConnellsburg, Pa.) 1899-current, 1903-12-23
TRIP THROUGH HOLLAND.
Henry VOLTS Description OF that Re.
narkabIe Country.
THE SURFACE LOWER THAN SEA LEVEL.
How Dikes are Built and Maintained, ard the
Water Drained from the Land. What
Happens When a Dixie Breaks.

! sea, Sudll HrSG ueSCflOo bDat
country. Holland has Germany
on tho east, Belgium on the south
and the North Sea on Jhe vest
1t is 100 miles wide from east 10
west, aud $50 from north to south.
IL contains about 70, 800 square
miles and mas a population of
about 100000, of which more
than one third live ia cities and
towns. The river Rhine and Mas
divide here into several branches
to reacn the sea, and form as 1t
%ere large islands and deltas of
very low ground. In fact more
than one half of the surface
Of Holland Is lower than sea
level. 10 order 10 settle on such
land, and bring 1T under cultiya.
ton, 1t was necessary to build
great walls called dikes, to keep
out the sea, and as the population
increased and they needed more
land, they staEed off Il piece of
swamp, of such a size as they
were able to wall in at one time,
! ditched it. and built houses. So,
in this way, they have, year after
year, generation after generation
been Wrestling acre after acre,
from the terribic waves. At this
day most all of tls low land has
been redeemed, and now the gov
ernmcat Is planning to wall in
Iuyder Zee, Il body of very shal-
low water, which contains about
900 square miles. To build dikes
IN swamps covered with water,
is a complicated undertaking.
Some Of these structures are
twenty-five feet high, and forty
feet wide, also VIDE enough on the
top for wagons to pass over them.
TO begin with, trees one and one
half TO two feet thick, are nicely
trimmed, and the thin end point.
ed, and if necessary a mental
point put on, like on a walking
cane, and on the thick end,
strong iron band is fixed, like a
chIsel handle. These trees thus
prepared, are now called piles.
Now portable steel frame or
tower, which is sometimes one
hundred feet high Is placed on
the exact spot where the pile is
to be driven. The tower is so
constructed, that the pile can be
placed in an upright position IN.
side of it. A steel weight or ham.
mer, that weighs a half of a ton,
is hoisted TO the top by a steam
engine, when the engineer by
jerk of rope, let's it drop on the
head of the pile. There are
grooves provided for the hammer
to slide in so it will hit the head of
the pile with great precision and
force. In very short time a pile
is driven as deep as desired. 1t
takes two rows of piles, one for
each side of the dixie. Next planks
with broad, fiat headed nails
driven into them, to protect them
against the wood destroying sea
worm teredo, are nailed against
the piles. The inside space is
now filled up with massive stones
brought on ship from Norway,
and with other material to make
it water tight, aud in that way
the superstruction is continued,
until 1t has the desired dIncn-
sions. Next, trees are planted
on the top, and grass seed is sown
all over it. so as 10 hold the whole
mass together. Some dikes are
faced with stone walls of mason.
ry On both sides. Even the
streams and rivers have their
banks vailed or paved with stone
to prevent the washing away of
the ground. After the dikes are
completed, there Is a body of en-.
closed water to be pumped out,
which requires the building of a
canal, much higher Than the land,
To carry tie water to tho sea -
Then many wind mills are built
10 pnmp the water into ilas canal
which mnst nave lock MT it's
mouth 10 keep out the waves, OF
the incoming tide. Some places
M l 1II