1855.] 



OBJECT OF THE SALT CONDITION OF THE SEA. 



227 



tainly not more than from 2 to 4 inches in the bottom. This 

 result has been attributed to active passage of the wind through 

 the cut, although of course much must depend upon its direc- 

 tion as in relation to the bearing of the cut. 



At 57J miles from Toronto we came to the Grand River 

 Viaduct, consisting of three land spans of 60 feet each, and 

 two over the river of 96 feet each. The full width of the 

 valley is 2500 feet, of which the structure occupies -t-tO feet, 

 the remainder consisting of an embankuient containing 130,000 

 cubic yards, the grade line being at an elevation of 47 feet 

 above the water. The piers and abutments are constructed of 

 a grey limestone (from quarries in the township of Puslinch, 

 12 miles south-eastward from the works), and built of the same 

 class as I have before described, the quantity of stone laid 

 being 4000 cubic yards, and the weight of metal in girders 

 some 200 tons. 



This was the last structure of importance which we visited. 

 Pa.ssing through Petersburgh, however, we gained a point 

 about 86 miles from Toronto, which is the summit of the whole 

 road, and 1003 feet above the level of Lake Ontario and 664 

 feet above Lake Huron. These levels give a difference in 

 altitude above the sea of 339 feet between Lakes Ontario and 

 Huron, and this difference consists, within one foot, of that 

 ascertained by the surveys of the Northern Railroad Company 

 extended from Toronto to the Georgian Baj'. 



it doss not, however, agree with Bayfield's observations as 

 published in Seobie's maps, — where the diiference is shewn to 

 be 361 feet. The railway profiles, checked as they have been 

 by each other, wiil probably be accepted as the more reliable, 

 especially when we remember that Bayfield traced his levels 

 through the St. Clair River, where we may conclude he made 

 his error in exaggerating the fall. 



Immediately to the southward of the summit, in the Town- 

 ship of Wilujot, and two miles west of Petersburgh, is a mound 

 known as Earl's Hill, said to be the highest point in Western 

 Canada, and ascertained by the engineer of the Guelph Rail- 

 way to be 1186 feet above Lake Ontario. I have not had any 

 opportunity since my visit to that point of ascertaining the 

 height of the Blue Mountains of Collingwood, but I am 

 strongly disposed to believe that their altitude is considerably 

 in excess of that of Earl's Hill as reported. 



Such is a brief sketch, descriptive of the principal structures 

 and works of the Toronto and St. Mary's Railway. I have 

 not attempted to do more than give an idea of their character, 

 which is so simple as almost to make their description monoto- 

 nous. 



Oue system and principle of construction being adopted 

 •throughout, the only special exception being the Speed Viaduct 

 at Guelph, little remained to be told, after one had been des- 

 cribed, beyond the extent, capacity and materials of each. 

 Together they form as perfect a group of railway structures as 

 I ever desire to see, for whilst their simplicity satisfies the 

 feeling of the most prudent economy, their materials are so 

 exceptionable, the character of the workmanship so excellent, 

 and the taste of their finish so fitting, that one is satisfied with 

 them as works of the mos-t substantial permanence. For my 

 part, I confess to having been most agreeably surprised when 

 I found works of such a class constructed in connection with 

 a Canadian enterprise; and whilst the immediate object of this 

 paper will have been served by directing the attention of the 

 Institute to them, I shall be better pleased if it induces my 

 engineering brethren to journey over the ground which I have 

 travelled with .so much satisfaction and not a little profit. 



Additional Note on the Object of the Salt Conditicn of 



the Sea. 



By Prof. Ch.\pmax, Universily College, Toronto: 



[Cojnmtinicaied to the Canadian Institute, April 14<Ay 1855.) 



Subsequent to the publication in the 3Iareh number of our 

 Journal, of a brief memoir on the object involved in the salt 

 condition of the sea, my attention has been called by the Di- 

 rector of the Observatory at Washington — the well known 

 Lieutenant Maury, of the United States Navy — to a very ela- 

 borate paper on the same subject, embodied in the explanatory 

 portion of his admirable Wind and Current Charts.* On 

 opening Lieutenant Maury's volume, my first impression was, 

 that I had been anticipated in my views. This, however, is 

 not the case, as will be seen by the subjoined letter, in which I 

 have attempted a critical review of the entire question. Ac- 

 cording to Lieutenant Maury's theory, the sea is salt in order 

 to ■produce cvrndation ; according to mine, in order to regu- 

 late evaporation. The two, nevertheless, may not be irrecon- 

 cilable. To a phenomenon, indeed, of so complicated a cha- 

 racter, more than one object is undoubtedly attached. 



TO LIEUT. MAURY, LL.D. 



Superintendent of the National Observatory, Washington, S;c. 



Dear Sir, — I beg to return you my best thanks for your 

 kind present of a copy of the sixth edition of the " Wind and 

 Current Charts." 



When I sent to the Canadian Institute my Note "On the 

 Object of the Salt Condition of the Sea," believe me, I was 

 altogether unaware of your previous publications on that sub=- 

 ject. My paper was read and discussed .some weeks before it 

 appeared in the Journal ot the Institute ; but no notice of your 

 highly important work was elicited from any of our members. 

 As it is, I shall remedy the omission, so far as it lies in my 

 power to do so, by calling attention to your views in an addi- 

 tional Note on the subject, to appear, if possible, in the May 

 number of the Journal. 



Will you allow me, however, with all due deference to one so 

 deservedly distinguished in this branch of enquiiy as j-ourself, 

 to call in question the justness of some of your inferences? 



If I understand the matter rightly, your hypothesis is to the 

 following eflect, namely, that the salt condition of the sea has 

 for its object the production of a system of circulation ; this 

 circulation being effected, first, by the surface water becoming 

 Salter (and hence heavier) by evaporation, and so, sinking 

 downwards, and giving place to the lighter water from below ; 

 and, secondly, by the labours of coral animals, and by vital 

 agencies generally, in removing the lime and other salts. 



To the correctness of the latter view, I most willingly con- 

 cede ; although I can scarcely look upon the cause in ques- 

 tion as sufliciently intense to produce the phenomena of 

 oceanic currents, according, if I mistake not, to your sugges- 

 tion at page 188 of the above-mentioned work. This, how- 

 ever, in the present state of our knowledge, is a mere matter of 

 opinion. The merit of the enunciation belongs entirely to you ; 

 for, although writer after writer has instjinced the compensa- 



* Explnnatory and Sailing Directions to accompany tlie Wind .ind 

 Current Charts." By M F. Maury, LL.D., Lieut. U.S.N. Gtli Ed., 

 1854. The study of this interesting volume cannot be too strongly re- 

 commended to all engaged in physico-geogrnphical inquiries. At pngo 

 177 there is a distinct chapter on the " Saltness of the Sea." — E. 0. 



