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POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



The item in this table called Panama railroad diversion affords 

 provision for the reconstruction of the railroad necessitated by the for- 

 mation of Lake Bohio. That lake would submerge the present location 

 of the railroad for fourteen or fifteen miles. 



It will be observed that in the estimates of cost of the canal on both 

 the Nicaragua and the Panama routes 20 per cent, is allowed for 'engi- 

 neering, police, sanitation and general contingencies.' For the pur- 

 poses of comparison the same percentage to cover these items was used 



The Culebra Cut. 



on both routes. As a matter of fact the large amount of work which 

 has already been performed on the Panama route removes many 

 uncertainties as to the character of material and other features of 

 difficulty which would be disclosed only after the beginning of the work 

 in Nicaragua. It has therefore been contended with considerable basis 

 of reason that a less percentage to cover these uncertainties should be 

 employed in connection with the Panama estimates than in connection 



with those for the Nicaragua route. 



Indeed it might be maintained 



