Evening journal., 1912-06-05

sible to adopt the hydraulic dredge
to pump over the banks now formed
or forming.
Even the clam-shell dredee de-
mands skill and Judgment In its oper-
alton, for if the marsh be overloaded /
/ the new bank viii settle, sometimes
sloughine OFF into the river more ma |
terial than was taken out, and some !
times sinking vertically In the lat |
/ ter case, lateral pressure may cause
the bed OF the river to rise above the |
water surface, an action which is in
creased sometimes by the expansion
of the highly compressibe material
when relieved Of the weight OF mud
formerly pressing il down. We have
thus presented the curious pheno-
menon of a reduction OF depth due TO
the removal OF material
Although not connected with the
improvement Of this river, II may be
interesting 10 note that under GER
tain conditions the depth might be
increased by dumping material into
the channel. as was shown by an at
tempt to build a road across marsh
similar TO that through which the
Murderkill River flows A mi of
gravel. usually excellent for an en-
bankment. so compressed the marsh
as TO produce q canal instead of
road, and great expense was incurred
In correcting the mishap
From Fig l. which shows the origi-
nal course of the river. It will be seen
that the 13 miles Of channel presented
many difficult turns To eliminate
these and at the same time shorten
the route. six canals we're dug
, by private enterprise which we're
: located where primitive methods and
, lack of funds demanded. generally
! without proper regard for the flow Of
!, the tides. This work reduced the
I length Of the route by a little more
. than 4 miles, but did not fully rectify
: the river even where cutoffs we're
made. and the effect of improperly
6 located cutofs was frequently to pro-
? duce eddies which caused shoaling
Fig shows the general effect Of
the work done prior to the beginning
? of Government work. The project
adopted by the Government in 1892
% provided for a loW-water channel z
= feet deep and so feet wide at the bot
i, tom from Frederick to Delaware Bay
4 The full width has not been secured
) but one cutoff has been made near
Lower Landing. old cutoffs have been
- corrected as far as possible, and the
G channel throughout has been made
: uniform and free from Irregularities
q which might cause shoaling.
e Fig 3 shows the condition which
- the river is approaching and which
- it has actually reached except for one
10 cutoff west Of Wehb's Landing and
another south Of Postle's Landing,
S which vet remain to be dug The old
- bends have heen omitted from the
g map They still exist but gradually
o fill up some Of those earliest cut Oft
ii being now impossible for small boats.
d The river has been shortened to 81
Is miles and the remaining work will
70 further shorten IL to rs miles or
about 55 per cent of its original
n length.
y The result Of the work done has
& been to provide free navigation for
& steam and gasoline cargo carriers OF
D. convenient and economical size Not
N only is the river route shortened. but
J. most Of the difficult bends have beer
IS eliminated Il was formerly common
Y. for steamer to drive her nose deeI
r into the soft bank and lose much time
ar in extricating herself, so that snuD
"a bing posts we're used to assist boat
or in making the turns. Saving time, u
r. always important, even where 1t doe
a not enable more trips to be MADE in
al given period but the chief value o
h the improvement from the view poin
IN OF navigation lies in the possibility o
using larger and more economical
4e carriers and operating them regular
he ly.
he "The construction Of cutoffs ha
H. largely increased the slope by dimir
n ishing the horizontal distance betwee
of the upper river and tho mouth and ha
n produced more rapid flow OF th
n. tide which assists in maintaining III
,s channel and at the Same time the cut
"A offs enlarge the tidal prism. TIL
81 freer movements of the water in thei
turn increase the range Of the tide
.. at the head waters Of the river so thi
-. today the range is three feet. IN
a,s, net result is a greatly increased 70
= ume Of tidal flow and more enecul
= securing velocities. Thus the cnton
9. are practically always selt-maintan
~ ing.
-. ""The increased tidal range IN Il
.n upper river has also had benehci'
II effect on the drainage Of adjacent 10
- land. enabling tracts. formerly vi
~ productive TO yield crops and increal
in value. A marked improvement
the health OF the community has bee
us observed since the drainage has hee
effective
.e- THE hnsl effect OF the simple in
by provements made iu this and 9TH
lg- similar rivers Of this region Is rap
'ss development Of the country. Foo
CT products are poured into the marke
er OF Philadelphia and other cities. Ca
neries spring up and new farms a
de. established 10 supply the corn, q
be- n,atoss and other vegetables al
it- fruits FOR canning. Fertilizer fact
ar ries are built to supply the farms. '
ter rious industries dsvsiep. Stores a
M opened 70 provide the products
- nthc. r,atns nd inferaiate cnrnner