Daily Kennebec journal., 1911-03-06
Fish and the Ship Canals.
HOW THE sUEz olrcAes CHANGE AAUNTs
OF THE oENzENs

During the last few moments OF Time
| engineers have contrived to make such
| changes on the face Of the earth as
would. through purely natural agen-
| cleS, have been the work of centuries
of centuries. With their steam ehov-
| els and their diamond drills they di-
vorce continents aud harry oceans. up
setti1g conditions thai have ruled al
most since the globe cooled down from
molten fornleSsneSS. The cutting o.
tnc SueZ Canal j. old history, but the
effect Of that gigantic enterprise on
| tie distribution oi fishes in the seas
on either side is only now being un-
derStood; and the interest of such Op-
| erations is enhanced by the approacli-
| ing completion Of that other great
canai conceived by tie same brain.
bat LETT 10. realization to other hands
| tl2an his.
In either case, oceans that hitherto
only met thousands OF miles away
must min9le their waters under the
control OF dams ana locks which.
| however. are 10 bar to the passage of
flsnes anxious to extend their range.
Yet the two canals differ widely il the
circumstances OF their construction.
| Wlen your steamer. forging slowly
| between thc coal-dust of Port Said and
| tho white roofs of Suez, throwing
great beams from its Saarch-light on
| the low dying shores of two cont
nente. las done he hundred miles OF
! artificial waterway that lie between
| the Atlantic tor its inlet. the Mediter-
I raaean) ana the indian Ocean you are
nj
unintercstirg scenery, OF roosting
| cranes and other ghostly fowl startled
| in the nightWatches and next day or
| lean Arabs stalking over the burning
| sand, or little French children hloWing
| kisses from the gares built at inter
| walls along the route. Those VINO
navigate the Panama Canal, or 50
much as l know of il, will nave little
chance OF seeing the more beautiful
| tropical vegetation. thu lofty noun
tains, and the luxuriant ferns, lor tne
decks will be below the leNcl OF The
surrounding country. They will see
little. also. of native lie: for the m
terror Of the isthmus. though not hal'
| the width OF that ut Suoz. is not such
as iayit.e settlement. Near the Bitter
Lakes of MonZaleh the e!9 rests on
| ta. elegant forms OF rose-coiored nam
! ingocs. On the heavier bodies of greedy
J. nelicans and the graceful figures OF
| snowy ibis. In Panama there VIII De
Ili,tlc evidence If bird life, with all ltS
| Jungle, and Nature hides all but lew
| yaudy parrots ana an occasional Eo'
| ering haWk. The vegetation. on 'h'
other nan6 viii Dc superb, but IS neSt
| zen from The train, whereas the oaihs
a. tho older canal are bare oil All nut
,Yctu.. save where, n each slghaihe-
| station, loving hands have planted
ni;noea, tanarisk. or parkinsohia.
4 is. however, in the chahses
wrought among the fishes that theSc
links between tEo oceans are of irSt
interest T, the naturalist. Leaning
! orcr the bow Of the steamer th''
masses slowly on its way To Sue"' :"
ia, lis waeh she'll not by erosion "
strov the sandy banks. the uaN''.
sees nany porppises using th' Gl,il.
without paying dues, and spe'.u~''.'
without PAVING dues. and specul'itfs VI
all tbt 1;nse on natives OF the lt," ,l
mr. Mediterranean t@at must hhe i''