The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1912-03-19

- Tf4a,i in their whole excavation.
IN the ditch Ut S}lez the art ahn
sand coetld lie left on the BANKS. on,
al Panama il has had = be c>tFteu
ni5cs away. -
most places, and il was only mere anu
thar- mat rock had to be cut. Al
ptfeaf3;. some Of the work has been
almost like blasting through iron.
ana ii Is onlE the steam shower thAt
has enabled Us u conquer the uil-
icgltT. Al,
,,osr a., hand Twenty thousand
FgvDtian peasants were emptoyeu
1T 4 time and they scooped the uif'
M in baskets. They got from hNe
to fifteen cents y day, and many o.
them worked under the lash ana
were not naid at all. our canal has
been constructed with the mishtiest
Of modern machinery. 50 efficient
That had it been used at SueZ that
canal could have been constructed at
onp-thirl Of the cost and within one
tenth of the time.
\ Trip Through the Canal.
The trip on the i'anarnI~ canal Will
be one OF the great sights or the
world. 1t will take n through some
Of the most picturesque scenery OF
[ ne JTODicS, " IltI Z ilicIt II ~ t'iiAi
trees. banana trees and the other
vegetation which clothes the equator.
1t Will be through a mountainous
region. over axes and up and down
the mighty water steps known as
locks.
~rh Suez canal is a trip through
the desert. The only difference be
tween it and the ordinary trip Of that
kind is that one rides on the deck OIL
a steamer instead OF on the back OF
a camel. And still it has wonderful
! beauties which our canal Will not
have. The last cine I passed through
from S.Sez to Port Said | spent the
night on the canal. Our snip vas
steaming through the SANDS, under
the stars Of the tropics. We had q
great round noon Of burning cop
pc: which turned the canal to mol
ten silver. and our pathway was
made still brighter by the electric
searchlights which blaZed from our
masthead and PROV. Standing upon
the deck, We could see, now and then,
on the banks a caravan OF ungainly
camels with their ghost-iike riders
clad in Whit bOobinS up and down
under the moons
We passed many whose
searchlights made II think Of sc
many c~yclopean demons, each with
an eye of fire in his forehead. march
ing on TO attack him. We had to SC
slow. The canal is already too small
for the traf fic and ships are allowed
to go only five or SIX miles an hour
Little recesses have been cut into thu
banks here and there. where, upoI
Telegram notice. vessels have to tie
up to allow other vessels to pass.
There are many dredges in tn
canal. and steam pumps are KEEP
sucking the sand upon the banks
The canal is now a little over thirt.
feet deep. but it will soon be thirty
five feet from one end to the other
Within the past year or SO man.
millions of tons Of earth and mu,
and there is now talk of widening ii
} or of building another by the side 70
: the surplus traffic.
! The Corinth Ship Canal.
1t is not a far cry from Suez t
Greece. 1t lies on the other side Q
: the Mediterranean. and not long ag
was composed mostly of what is nov
the mainland and the Peloponnesu
y which was Joined to it by the Isthmu
OF Corinth. In 1898 this isthmus wa
: cut through by the Corinth cana
: ana lower Greece was then turne
az an lstano. RMS shOrtens tn
tourney from the Adriatic to tn
flraeus by over two hundred miles
y ana the canal should be one Of tn
eraue routes OF the Mediterranear
y 1t IS not. When [ visited i , 70,
e or SO age there was comnarative
. niue shipplng going through. and
= was told that the canal is so situate
ma. II forms a huge air shaft whic
3 makes II unsafe for steamers.
= Inc walls of the Corinth canal >,
Two or three hundred feet high an
the canal itself is only about 20 fal
WIDE It's depth is only % feet an
the biggest Of steamers cannot ~ ~
.e nous II. 4 new company has re
eently taken possession Of i a,a
~ IS said that it will be daa,ano au
II made available for vessels of ba,";l
4 'onn@Ee, This company bought -
3e canal Tor less than $4,000 a7tbona
y uas' something like s12,ooo,ooo T
!, The Corinth canal i .
ditch with great green walls 'eau.ll