The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1915-02-09
present would be where 70 begin.
Col. GOethals' Task.

cuts whose walls were almost efpen
dicular, and which a not crunbleu
apprcciably in the fifty years since It's
construction. In the same way II WaS
reasonable to conclude that the
of the canal would stand unless an
or other violence disturbed
their equilibrium or where they o
ed ~pervious to water as at Gold Hill.
There's the rub
The task in hand is however. the
work for Col. Cocktails, and ne Saiit
for the ISthmus tomorrow TO carry u
out and present a cleaned up canal
by June, when the President Is TO
make holiday for the purpose.
Col. Goethals talked freely ana
easily, rarely needing the urge OF a
question. and said in effect:
The old Cucurracha slide, enor-
nous as it was, has been taken care
of by removing earth and pressure
from the hill above n dredging the
channel there Toe feet wider, m
a sort Of bay which Will take up any
further glissade, should it occur, with
out e~ndangering the canal prism II
self.
ION the opposite side stands Gold
Hill, and it was there that |
ed the fault or crack in the earth last
October-a longitudinal crack in the
side of the hill about 1000 feet long.
1t was not slow in developing. Inc
crack widened. and the earth on the
canal side of it began sliding into the
cut. The whole surface of the slid
ing earth began sinking and the canal
prism filled up rapidly. On account
of the softneSs of the surface Of this
moving, sinking mass it was imprac-
ticable to establish d steam shovel OF
it or lay q track that would sustain
a locomotive and a train of cars. There
was nothing to do but dredge it as il
came down.
The mass of Gold Hill bac %
the fault showed, and has sine:
shown, no movement or tendency t.
move. so that as things look now i
| would be impolitic to attempt an
treatment of hat part of the hill.
AT the point OF fracture of tn,
mass it stood ESQ feet above tn
water, and the character of the eartf
movement may best be understood b.
saying that the top or the sliding sol
is 10Y 100 feet lower than the uppe
portion of the hill from which it sep
aTated.
Powerful Dredgcs.
Nowhere else on the whole line @
the nine miles Of the Culebra Cut i
there any sign Of movement. I hav
bought additional and powerful
dredges and shall use all that l cal
crowd into the space until the prison
is wholly cleared and the full widtl
of the 800 feet channel is available t
its full depth of 40 feet. We hav
already removed nearly 10000 600 Gu
bic yards Of material.
THE report hat the bottom q
the canal is rising on %ccoun of pres
sure on the bank is, 1 believe, who'll
~unfounded. The filling up over space
already dredged is, 1 am convinced
wholly due to the fact tina this par
ticular soil when exposed to water sa,
uratives turns into fluid mud an
moves across the canal bottom unde
the pressure Of the descending, push
ing earth behind.
This fairly defines the amount .
work to be done. It is my ~intentio
to keep up the dredging until a bay
formed on the Gold Hill side hat wi
absorb any future slips on that sio
1.-The question of slides as a who
must be dealt with in that wa,
namely, as they may occur. It Woul
be desirable, no doubt, to SO widen tt
banks above the prism for the who
nine miles that there would be r
possibility Of ar interruption Of =
traffic from ~collapsing baks, but tt
practical difficulty would be to t.
t where to begin. 1t is we'll to reca
that probably nowhere on the earth
surface is there in the same space u
2 same variety of rocks and earth mike
up IN such a way as in the hi
t through which we have run the Cul
bra cut. In most places the rock WI
is solid, but close by may be a we+a
t spot. People have smiled at the can
engineers phrase Of the angle
e repose,' but it is really that which q
termineS safety at each poin Whe
r there has been a giving way, and
g no two places will it be alike. Anoth
G factor is that some of the rocks ae
S ually harden when exposed to wate
h some of the earths-as il Il
stuff coming down at Gold Hill-t.ll
2 up water and become fluid mud
4 once.
r To Change Mud t o Rock.
q "A matter of the highest interest
this connection developed during
+ visit to Washington. The Standa
r Commission has developed a meth,
of treating earths which changes t
quality Of their particles in some +
s spects by a process resembling inOc
= latiOD They think II unita pocSih1o