﻿HYDROLOGY 
  OF 
  NEW 
  YORK 
  

  

  719 
  

  

  State 
  Canals 
  

   The 
  Erie 
  canal. 
  Erie 
  canal 
  was 
  the 
  first 
  development 
  of 
  the 
  

   internal 
  water 
  resources 
  of 
  New 
  York 
  State, 
  and 
  grew 
  out 
  of 
  the 
  

   demand 
  for 
  transportation 
  facilities 
  between 
  the 
  Atlantic 
  sea- 
  

   board 
  and 
  the 
  Great 
  Lakes. 
  The 
  impulse 
  which 
  it 
  gave 
  to 
  the 
  

   development 
  of 
  New 
  York 
  State, 
  and 
  of 
  the 
  entire 
  territory 
  

   tributary 
  to 
  the 
  Great 
  Lakes, 
  can 
  hardly 
  be 
  estimated. 
  Taking 
  

   into 
  account 
  its 
  far-reaching 
  consequences, 
  it 
  may 
  be 
  considered 
  

   the 
  greatest 
  public 
  work 
  thus 
  far 
  carried 
  out 
  in 
  the 
  United 
  States. 
  

   Nevertheless, 
  Erie 
  canal 
  has 
  not 
  only 
  passed 
  its 
  day 
  of 
  usefulness, 
  

   but, 
  to 
  some 
  extent, 
  stands 
  in 
  the 
  way 
  of 
  future 
  development, 
  the 
  

   chief 
  cause 
  for 
  this 
  being 
  a 
  too 
  pronounced 
  regard 
  for 
  the 
  canal's 
  

   former 
  greatness. 
  The 
  historical 
  matter 
  may 
  serve 
  to 
  indicate 
  

  

  Capacity 
  80Tons. 
  

  

  Fig. 
  45. 
  Original 
  lock 
  used 
  on 
  Erie 
  canal. 
  

  

  how 
  strongly 
  the 
  feeling 
  that 
  Erie 
  canal 
  should 
  be 
  maintained 
  

   in 
  perpetuity 
  has 
  been 
  impressed 
  upon 
  the 
  people 
  of 
  the 
  State 
  of 
  

   New 
  York. 
  (This 
  paragraph 
  was 
  written 
  in 
  1897.) 
  

  

  By 
  way 
  of 
  illustrating 
  the 
  rise 
  and 
  decline 
  of 
  Erie 
  canal, 
  it 
  

   may 
  be 
  cited 
  that 
  in 
  1837 
  the 
  total 
  freight 
  carried 
  was 
  1,171,296 
  

   tons, 
  valued 
  at 
  $55,809,288 
  ; 
  in 
  1880 
  the 
  total 
  freight 
  carried 
  was 
  

   6,457,656 
  tons, 
  valued 
  at 
  $247,844,790 
  ; 
  in 
  1895 
  the 
  total 
  freight 
  

   carried 
  was 
  3,500,314 
  tons, 
  valued 
  at 
  $97,453,021. 
  Statistics 
  

   show 
  that 
  the 
  great 
  bulk 
  of 
  all 
  the 
  freight 
  now 
  carried 
  on 
  Erie 
  

   canal 
  is 
  through 
  freight 
  carried 
  for 
  western 
  producers, 
  local 
  busi- 
  

   ness 
  being 
  only 
  a 
  small 
  per 
  cent 
  of 
  the 
  whole. 
  Statistics 
  show 
  

   that 
  freights 
  are 
  now 
  carried 
  by 
  railways 
  as 
  cheaply 
  as 
  they 
  

   can 
  be 
  carried 
  by 
  the 
  canal, 
  and 
  this, 
  too, 
  at 
  a 
  profit, 
  while 
  the 
  

   canal, 
  in 
  order 
  to 
  obtain 
  any 
  freight 
  at 
  all, 
  has 
  been 
  obliged 
  to 
  

   do 
  away 
  with 
  all 
  tolls, 
  thus 
  making 
  the 
  cost 
  of 
  shipment 
  by 
  canal 
  

   the 
  bare 
  cost 
  of 
  transportation 
  proper. 
  

  

  