MECHANICS AND USEFUL ARTS. 33 



THE FRENCH CANAL AT SUEZ. 



It is announced that in 1867 the long-projected canal through 

 the Istlimus of Suez, will be opened to the world. In this great 

 enterprise, the French have once more shown their extraordinary 

 control of persons of totally opposite characters and habits of life, 

 and have, moreover, exhibited the business faculty in a degree 

 rarely shown by other than Englishmen. There are now work- 

 ing at the canal nearly 19,000 men, of whom 8,000 are Euro- 

 peans, and the remainder Arabs, Egyptians, or Syrians. The 

 crews of the dredging-machines are often comjiosed of French- 

 men, Italians, Greeks, Germans, Egyptians, and Maltese ; and we 

 are assured that they are in no way inferior to the more homo- 

 geneous crews which are seen at home. The Orientals even ex- 

 hibit a zeal and ardor Avhich almost equal the activity of French- 

 men. The arrangements for the housing, feeding, and sanitary 

 welfare of the workmen are, seeminglj-, very complete. There 

 is free trade in provisions, and 1,490 traders have established 

 along the line of works, hotels, canteens, warehouses, and shops, 

 where almost everything can be obtained. The medical, postal, 

 and telegraphic services are under the control of the company. 

 At great expense, a water supj^ly has been obtained, which yields 

 2,000 cubic metres per day. The district is destitute of water- 

 courses, and this aiTangement was, therefore, of the highest im- 

 l^ortance. By these means, cholera and other maladies have been 

 warded off. From the measures taken by M. de Lessejis and his 

 colleagues, for the comfort and health of the workmen, we miglit 

 learn a lesson. In India, China, and the colonies, we have army 

 " stations," which are regularly occupied during certain seasons 

 of the year, and which are yet without proper house-room and 

 13ure water. 



But beyond these things, the mechanical contrivances which 

 have been invented, and are now used, for the several different 

 kinds of work, are worth consideration. Conspicuous among 

 them are the dredging-machines. To cut a channel through a 

 certain piece of land, the plan adopted has been to dig by hand 

 until sufficient depth and width has been secured to float a dredg- 

 ing-barge, when the water has been let in, and the machine set 

 in motion. Instead of emptying the mud into another barge, to 

 be taken out to sea and there discharged, each dredge has affixed 

 to it a long spout, the upi^er end of which begins on the dredge 

 itself, as high as i^ossiblc, where it receives the earth raised by 

 the buckets. At the same time, pumps worked by the steam- 

 engine of the dredge raise a torrent of Avater which carries the 

 earth off bej'ond the bank, and spreads it over a wide surface. 

 In this country, where we are just now about to reverse our sys- 

 tem, and keep our rivers clear instead of tilling them with dejios- 

 its, a modification of this machine would be .of great service. By 

 its means we might at once deepen and clear the beds of our 

 rivers, and add materially to the fertility of the adjacent fields. 

 Few things are more fertilizing than what is called " wai"p," and 

 by the means thus pointed out, this could be obtained artificially. 



