flfagara ffalls power Bppliancea. 197 



wind, and it is very much greater than one 

 would suppose without studying the causes. 

 Lake Erie lies in an easterly and westerly di- 

 rection, and when the wind blows constantly 

 for a time from the west, with considerable 

 force, the water piles up at the eastern end of 

 the lake, which causes the level of the Niagara 

 River to rise to a very sensible extent. It is 

 not so noticeable above the falls as below, be- 

 cause of the great difference in the width of 

 the river at these two points. Sometimes the 

 river below the falls, as it flows through the 

 narrow gorge, will vary in height from twenty 

 to forty feet. When the wind stops blowing 

 from the west and suddenly changes and blows 

 from the east, it carries the water of the lake 

 away from the east toward the west end, which 

 will produce a corresponding depression in the 

 Niagara River. No doubt there is an effect 

 produced by the difference of annual rainfall, 

 but the effect from this cause is not so marked 

 a- that from the changing wiiuK 



Another appliance used in the power-house, 

 clm-fly for handling heavy loads and trans- 

 ferring them fn.m one point to another, is 

 railed tin- 1. rtric crane. It is mounted upon 

 tracks located on each side of the power-house. 

 The crane spans the \\h<>le distance, and runs 

 on this track by means of trucks from one end 

 of the power-house to the other. Running 

 across this crane is another track which car- 



