The Caucasian., 1910-02-08
PARIS A CITY OF
MANY FLOODS
FOrty-SlE Serious RlSIngs Of
the Seine Since 1882.
THREE EXCEPTIONAL ONES.

Il y NSSN
Predictions Are Made-Proteetion
of the City,
Paris has had so many floods that
the scientists and expert watchers of
the Seine have classified them and di-
! vided them into three groups, accord
| ing to the height of the water regis
| tered on the gauges. 1t was on this
system for forecasting foods was
worked out, in 1854, and it has been
in use ever since, so the city authori-
ties of Paris knew two weeks or more
ago of the calamity that was in store
for them.
Since the daily readings of the fow
of the Seine at Paris and other points
We're begun, In 1892, there have been
forty-six floods counting the present
/ one. According to the classification by
1 height, thirty-one of these were "ort1i-
nary" twelve extraordinary" and
three exceptional" the exceptional
ones being those of 174O 1902 and 1910.
In the century preceding 1882 there
were five devastating foundations Of
the city, that of 1868 being the worst
on record until the present time.
There Is no record of what the Seine
did previous to 1852, but the natural
conditions have been the same since
long before the history of France be.
gan, so the little lie de la Cite which
was the beginning of Paris and on
which the Cathedral of Notre Dame
was consecrated in 1882, must have
been many times submerged When
Julius Caesar conquered Gaul in 1851
| b. G. the PARISH were small tribe
| settled on the island in the middle Of
the Seine, and they called It Lutetia.
Constantius Chorus, Roman emper-
or who had his residence there in the
year 203, called 1t "his dear Lutetia, -
which may have been the beginning Of
that dear Paris. But there were no
quays and retaining walls then, so the
future lie de Ia Cite must have been
flooded after every torrential rain In
the valleys Of the Seine and it's chief
tributaries above Paris, the Marine and
the Yonne.
Famous Buildings In Floods Course.
Most of the famous structures dam
aged or threatened by the present
flood antedate the beginning Of the
food records of Paris In 1649 by many
years, lin some cases centuries. The
Jardin DIES Plantes, which was the first
institation to feel the effects of the
present rising, Is on the lower left
bank of the Seine, near the entrance of
the river within the city limits. AL
though botanical garden, 1t includes
q museum of natural history and a
geological collection The Jardin des
Plantes was founded In 1886 by Guy
de la Brosse. physician to Louis XIII,
and was originally nothing more than
a collection of medicinal herbs. The
celebrated Button was appointed tIi-
rector Of the Jardin du Roi, as 1t came
70 be called In 1889, and he extended
its sphere by founding collections in
every department OF natural history.
In 1893 the royal menagerie was trans.
ferred to It. and in 1894 the library.
Notre Dame, on the lie de la Cite,
The famous walls of which have been
washed by many floods, was founded
in 1853 ON the site of church of the
fourth century and was consecrated In
1882, but the nave was not completed |
until the thirteenth century. The |
foundation stone was laid by Pope |
Alexander III, at that time q refugee |
In France. In 1893 Notre Dame was |
converted into the temple of reason.
The sculptures were mutilated and the
statue of the Virgin replaced by one
of Liberty. The orgies Of which the
church became the scene led to its
being closed the following year. In
1905 It was restored to the Catholics
Rendezvous Of Wolf Hunters.
The Louvre, the basement of which
is fioeded, is supposed to derive its
aame from an ancient rendezvous of
wolf hunters, known as the Louverie.
The beginning of building on this site
was in the time of Philip Augustus,
VINO HVed ID the latter part or the 1
twelfth century. But the present
structure was not begun until the
reign of Francis l., 1515-4T.
The occurrence of high floods at
Paris is due, as d rule, to the concen-
tration of the rainfall at certain peri
DDS of the year aud not to a high aver
age for the whole year, so most of the
have come in the winter.
helped along by the melting snow.
Floods of the Seine present a mixed
character owing to the torrential ma
lure of its tributaries, the Yonne and
he Marne. which, with their high
aoods. exercise predominating In
fuence on the floods of Paris. AS the
orrents from the farthest parts of the
BASIN take only three or four days to
each Paris, whereas the floods of the
ranquil afiiuents only arrive four or
Ire days later. a great flood at Paris
: rarely the result Of a single fall
i rain Generally d high food IL
.aused By the arrival Of d second tor