REVIEWS. 265 



Brought forward , 355 miles. 



" By Caughnawaga Canal 25i " 



" River Richelieu to Rouse's Point 23 " 



" Lake Champlain to Whitehall Ill " 



" New York Champlain Canal to Albany, 13 " 



Total 58ti miles. 



"Being 161^ miles Canal navigation. 



" 426 " Lake and river navigation. 



" "We observe by this comparison that by far the shortest route for a vessel from 

 Albany to the Upper Lakes is by the Erie Canal : accordingly, there must be 

 manifest advantages in other respects to counterbalance the fact, that to 

 reach the foot of Lake Erie by Lake Champlain and the Saint Lawrence, 211 

 miles additional distance must be travelled. On the other hand we must re- 

 member that there would be 10^ miles less canal navigation than by way of Oswe- 

 go. Therefore with the greater distance, the Champlain and St. Lawrence route, 

 if admitting the passage of vessels of greater tonnage, would be preferable. For 

 quicker trips could be made, and from the increased capacity of the vessel, the 

 greater cargo, with the relative less expense, would bring more profit to the for- 

 warder. Moreover a vessel of this character could discharge at New York, and 

 avoid the delay and cost of transhipment at Albany entailed upon vessels passing 

 through the Erie Canal. The limited accommodation of the New York Champlain 

 Canal* is a bar to the establishment of the trade. Were the enlargement of this 

 Canal an admitted necessity, and it were at once to be undertaken, the route 



•"The length of the Champlain Canal from Whitehall to its junction with the Erie Canal at West 

 Troy is 66| miles ; continuing by the latter to Albany the distance is increased by 73 miles. It is 

 supplied by a feeder from the upper waters of the Hudson at Glen's Fall, 282 feet above the tide 

 water at Albany— 7 miles long having 13 locks. The summit level of the Canal is 150 feet above 

 tide water. 



" The up lockage from junction with Erie Canal at West Troy to summit level at 



Fort Edward is 1251 ft. 



" The Erie Canal level below that point is 24J " 



150 

 "The down lockage from east end of summit level at Fort Ann to Whitehall is... 5ii 



" Accordingly the elevation of Whitehall above tide water at Albany is 95f ft. 



" The locks are 20 in number, and 90 ft. by 15 ft. in size, with 4 ft. water on the sills. The 

 only vessels which navigate this Canal are the old fashioned Canal boats towed by horses, 



" The height of Lake Champlain is here given according to the authority of American Engi- 

 neers. But it is proper to mention that it is not authenticated by Canadian experience, which 

 places it no higher than 84 feet. That this discrepancy arises from error, is proved, independently 

 of its magnitude, by the fact, that while the Americans taking tide water at Albany as a datum 

 make Lake Erie 565 feet above it, the Canadians taking tide water at Three Rivers as a basis 

 make Lake Erie 5641 feet higher, which would go to shew the not unimportant fact in physical 

 geography that the Saint Lawrence at Three Rivers and the Hudson at Albany are at about the 

 same level. I am not aware that this fact has been previously published, and I owe it to Mr. 

 Walter Shanly, that I can state it here. It may be added that this matter has been somewhat 

 closely investigated by us, and the opinion is strongly entertained that the error does not lie on 

 our side. 



