﻿HYDROLOGY 
  OF 
  NEW 
  YORK 
  801 
  

  

  Study 
  of 
  continuously 
  descending 
  canal 
  from 
  Lake 
  Erie 
  to 
  the 
  

   Hudson 
  river. 
  Ever 
  since 
  the 
  publication 
  of 
  the 
  paper 
  by 
  the 
  

   late 
  Elnathan 
  Sweet 
  in 
  1884 
  in 
  regard 
  to 
  a 
  radical 
  enlargement 
  

   of 
  the 
  artificial 
  waterway 
  between 
  the 
  lakes 
  and 
  the 
  Hudson 
  

   river, 
  the 
  opinion 
  has 
  extensively 
  prevailed 
  that 
  it 
  was 
  preferable 
  

   to 
  relocate 
  the 
  Erie 
  canal 
  in 
  such 
  manner 
  as 
  to 
  eliminate 
  the 
  

   depression 
  between 
  Newark 
  and 
  Syracuse, 
  thus 
  making 
  a 
  canal 
  

   with 
  a 
  continuous 
  fall 
  all 
  the 
  way 
  from 
  Lake 
  Erie 
  to 
  the 
  Hudson. 
  

  

  In 
  his 
  report 
  for 
  1883 
  State 
  Engineer 
  and 
  Surveyor 
  Silas 
  Sey- 
  

   mour 
  remarks 
  that 
  an 
  examination 
  of 
  the 
  Erie 
  canal 
  profile 
  will 
  

   show 
  that 
  by 
  raising 
  Montezuma 
  level 
  36.4 
  feet 
  and 
  the 
  intervening 
  

   portions 
  of 
  the 
  canal 
  to 
  the 
  same 
  elevation, 
  Rome 
  level 
  would 
  be 
  

   extended 
  to 
  a 
  corresponding 
  level 
  west 
  of 
  the 
  valley 
  of 
  the 
  Seneca 
  

   river, 
  and 
  the 
  lockage 
  discharges 
  of 
  the 
  entire 
  Erie 
  canal 
  would 
  all 
  

   be 
  to 
  the 
  eastward, 
  thus 
  making 
  Lake 
  Erie 
  the 
  principal 
  source 
  of 
  

   water 
  supply 
  for 
  the 
  whole 
  canal. 
  He 
  concludes 
  his 
  discussion 
  by 
  

   suggesting 
  that 
  if 
  a 
  ship 
  canal 
  should 
  ever 
  be 
  seriously 
  contem- 
  

   plated, 
  the 
  practicability 
  of 
  this 
  improvement 
  should 
  be 
  carefully 
  

   considered. 
  1 
  

  

  •So 
  far 
  as 
  known, 
  the 
  foregoing 
  is 
  the 
  first 
  reference 
  in 
  canal 
  

   literature 
  of 
  this 
  State 
  to 
  a 
  continuously 
  descending 
  high 
  level 
  

   canal 
  from 
  Newark 
  to 
  the 
  west 
  end 
  of 
  Rome 
  level. 
  

  

  In 
  the 
  early 
  days 
  of 
  inland 
  navigation 
  in 
  the 
  State 
  of 
  New 
  

   York 
  effort 
  was 
  entirely 
  directed 
  towards 
  the 
  improvement 
  of 
  the 
  

   natural 
  watercourses, 
  artificial 
  channels 
  being 
  only 
  considered 
  

   when 
  necessary 
  to 
  connect 
  such. 
  2 
  There 
  were 
  no 
  engineers 
  in 
  

   the 
  State 
  at 
  that 
  time, 
  and 
  the 
  difficulties 
  of 
  meeting 
  flood 
  con- 
  

   ditions 
  seemed 
  to 
  our 
  ancestors 
  insuperable. 
  The 
  result 
  was 
  

   that 
  when 
  the 
  Erie 
  canal 
  was 
  finally 
  projected 
  from 
  about 
  1808 
  to 
  

   1817, 
  as 
  a 
  waterway 
  independent 
  of 
  the 
  streams, 
  it 
  was 
  made 
  an 
  

   artificial 
  channel, 
  although 
  for 
  the 
  greater 
  portion 
  of 
  its 
  dis- 
  

   tance 
  it 
  paralleled 
  waterways 
  which 
  could 
  easily 
  have 
  been 
  

   canalized, 
  producing 
  much 
  greater 
  depth 
  of 
  water 
  than 
  was 
  con- 
  

   templated 
  in 
  the 
  canal. 
  There 
  is 
  little 
  doubt 
  but 
  that 
  the 
  mis- 
  

   take 
  of 
  making 
  the 
  artificial 
  channel 
  has 
  retarded 
  the 
  develop- 
  

   ment 
  of 
  New 
  York 
  State 
  in 
  many 
  ways 
  ; 
  and 
  it 
  is 
  accordingly 
  in- 
  

  

  1 
  Report 
  State 
  Engineer 
  and 
  Surveyor 
  for 
  1883, 
  p. 
  16-17. 
  

  

  2 
  Refer 
  to 
  description 
  of 
  works 
  of 
  Western 
  Inland 
  Lock 
  Navigation 
  Com- 
  

   pany 
  on 
  page 
  724. 
  

  

  