THE DRAINING OF THE ZUIDER SEA. 551 



THE DRAINING OF THE ZUIDER SEA. 



By Professor J. H. GORE, 



COLUMBIAN UNIVERSITY. 



'/^ OD made the world, but the Dutch made Holland' is a saying 

 ^^ quite common with people who visit the Netherlands; and as 

 one looks upon the great sea dykes that keep the North Sea from 

 sweeping over North Holland or the smaller dykes that hold the rivers 

 within their channels, it is easy to see that the retention of the land 

 created is possible only with great vigilance and care. Lakes have been 

 drained and their beds converted into arable land, useless bends have 

 been taken from the rivers and the ground, once covered by marshes, 

 has become fertile gardens. The map of Holland shows many changes, 

 not only in the coast line, but in the water covered areas within. 



The draining of the Haarlem Lake was looked upon as a marvel 

 of engineering skill and patient industry, but the work here discussed is 

 far greater in magnitude and presents technical and economic diffi- 

 culties never before encountered. 



A clause in the constitution of the United Netherlands permits the 

 organization of new provinces. However, when it was written, there 

 was in mind the possibility of rearranging the eleven provinces in such 

 a way as to enlarge the number. The acquisition of territory of any 

 considerable area was not thought of until 1848, when it was proposed 

 to drain the Zuider Sea, which, if accomplished, would add a province 

 somewhat larger than Zeeland. 



In 1892, Queen Emma appointed a commission, consisting of the 

 Minister of Water Affairs and twenty-nine members to consider the 

 general question of converting this shallow inland sea into agricultural 

 lands. Two years later, a very elaborate report was submitted, in which 

 the problem was discussed from every conceivable standpoint. So 

 many questions were raised in this report and so much discussion was 

 provoked that it was not until last summer that the people generally 

 realized what the Commission actually proposed and how the work was 

 to be done. The air has been sufficiently cleared to enable one to assert 

 that while it is universally conceded to be possible to drain as much of 

 this sea as may be desired, there remains the feeling that while the 

 cost of this undertaking is certain, the benefits are by no means sure. 



It is proposed to build a sea dyke from Ewijksluis in North Holland 

 over the island of Wieringen to the Frisian Coast near Piaam, a dis- 



