1833.] The Ancient Canals in the Delhi Territory. 123 
promise not only to be successful, but likely to find an abundance of 
employment, the lines of the Delhi and Doab canals producing much 
sugar-cane, with very imperfect modes of expressing the juice, 
It will be apparent, that all these modes of employing the water are 
highly advantageous, and do not interfere with the main purpose of the 
canals, that of irrigation ; the mills being established either where sur- 
plus water escapes, or where it is returned below the mills into the 
canal again, no loss of water is entailed to irrigation, beyond the ab- 
sorption and evaporation of the mill streams. 
Of the Employment of the Canals for the Transit of Merchandize. 
This object has as yet been only very imperfectly attained, being 
chiefly limited to the transit of rafts of timber on the line of canals 
between the forests of the Jamna, from which the rafts enter the canal 
at its head, to all intermediate places, along the canal of Feroz Suan, 
as far as Hissar, a distance of 200 miles. Downthe Delhi branch from 
Rair, few if any rafts, except for canal works, have passed down, as 
they could not reach nearer to Delhi than 12 miles, from the obstructions 
presented by the ancient bridges and reduced dimensions of the canal. 
It is therefore preferable for rafters to use the Jamna for such purposes, 
conveying their rafts to within a mile of the city, though attended often 
by great danger in the rains, or delays in the hot-weather. 
I do not conceive for these reasons, that the Delhi branch will ever 
come into use for rafting, beyond the demand of the vicinity of the 
canal, which with so much jungle-wood, available for common purposes, 
is not likely at an early period to be great. The Doad canal, it is pro- 
bable, will be so employed as soon as the completion of the works in- 
tended to rectify the disadvantages attendant on the heavy fall at head 
and tail of this canal, shall afford means of locking the whole line of 
strong descent. This canal will ultimately come into use for rafting, 
not only on account of its safety and more equable depth of water, when 
compared with the Jamna, but because Saharanpur is the general 
mart for all timber brought from the range of hills between the 
Jamna and the Ganges, and the merchants will doubtless see the ad- 
vantages of at once rafting direct from Saharanpir to Delhi by a 
safe and expeditious line of water carriage, instead of incurring the 
cost of a land carriage of 16 miles to the Jamna, added to the dan- 
ger and delays of the river navigation. 
In regard to boat navigation, all that has yet effected has been 
done by the superintendent, in using boats for the transport of 
lime, from the upper to the lower parts of the canal, which has 
R 2 
