THE EHINE AND THE MOSELLE. 



187 



and during the Middle Ages, when quagmires extended for miles along the banks 

 of the river, rendering access to them difficult, the few favoured spots where its 

 volume was confined to a single bed bounded by solid banks were naturallv 

 much appreciated. In the present century the Ehine is rapidly being converted 

 into a navigation canal, having a uniform width of 820 feet. It is no lono-er 

 permitted to invade the districts bordering upon it, the old marshes and deserted 

 channels are being drained and cultivated, and roads and railways running along 

 lofty embankments afford access to every part of the country.* 



After its union with the Main, the Rhine, being turned a?ide by the spurs of the 



Fig. 108.— Meandeeings of the Rhine between Germersheim and Speyer. 



Scale 1 : 140,000. 









2 Miles. 



Taunus, flows to the west, and having discovered at the Biiiger Loch, or Gap of 

 Bingen, the weakest point in the opposing mountain range, it engages in a narrow 

 rock-bound defile, which forms as it were a fluviatile gateway between Southern 



* The delivery of the Ehine is as follows : — 



At Kehl. At Lauterburg. 



In summer 12,360 16,430 cubic feet per second. 



On an average throughout the year . . 33,763 39,060 „ „ 



When in flood 165,456 176,936 „ „ 



The effect of the conversion of Ihe Ehine into a navigation canal may be judged from the fact that 

 its length, as far as it washes Lower Alsace, has been reduced from 484,290 feet in 1838, to 380,500 feet 

 in 1860. 



