L. MECHANICS AND ENGINEERING. 473 



L. MECHANICS AND ENGINEERING. 



CANAL BETWEEN THE RHINE AND THE WESER. 



A new canal has been projected for connecting the Rhine 

 and the Weser. It is to be about 8-j- feet deep, 44 feet wide, 

 and over 100 miles in length. The cost is estimated at about 

 $7,500,000. 3 A, March 9, 1872, 212. 



CANAL BETWEEN THE BLACK SEA AND THE CASPIAN. 



It is said that the Emperor of Russia proposes to effect the 

 junction of the Black Sea with the Caspian, which is the 

 lower by about 83+ feet (or that much below the level of the 

 sea), by digging a canal only about four miles long, connect- 

 ing the Manuteh, one of the eastern tributaries of the Don, 

 with the Kerma. The total length of the route will be 460 

 miles, and the principal engineering labor will be in piercing 

 the mountain which separates these rivers. This will require 

 32,000 workmen for a period of six years. 12-4, June 20, 

 1872, 150. 



TUNNEL UNDER THE GUT OF CANSO. 



A proposition has been entertained to tunnel under the 

 Strait of Canso, between Nova Scotia and Cape Breton, where 

 the strait is only two and a half miles wide, for the purpose 

 of connecting the island of Cape Breton with the main land. 

 The cost is estimated at $2,500,000. This idea is connected 

 with a proposition to run a line of steamers from Glasgow, 

 or other British port, to Louisburg, the most easterly point 

 of Cape Breton. Shippers' Monthly Circular, May, 1872. 



THAWING FROZEN GROUND. 



The Scientific American contains a notice in regard to thaw- 

 ing frozen ground in winter for purposes of excavation. The 

 writer claims to have ascertained that a small jet of steam, 

 applied underground, will remove the frost in a short time 

 from a very large extent of earth. This is done by forcing 

 steam, under pressure from a boiler, under the earth in a suit- 

 able pipe; and as the fluid escapes it penetrates the soil, is 



