12 THE FOREST LANDS OF NORTHERN RUSSIA. 
The name Novaia Ladoga, or New Ladoga, was given to 
the town mentioned, a town of 3,000 inhabitants, in con- 
tradistinction to Staraia Ladoga, or Old Ladoga, formerly a 
large place, noted in Russian annals as the earliest resi- 
dence of Ruric, first sovereign of Russia. The ruins of its 
ancient walls are still seen; but since the erection of 
Novaia Ladoga, it has become almost depopulated, and the 
number of its houses does not exceed fifty. Steamers ply 
daily during summer between St. Petersburg and Novaia 
Ladoga, leaving Schlusselburg at 2.30 P.M., and arriving at 
Novaia Ladoga at 1 Am., and thence there is water con- 
nection with the Volga and the network of inland naviga- 
tion. 
The creation of this canal, skirting the southern extremity 
of Lake Ladoga, was one of the last enterprises of Peter the 
Great. In 1718 he formed the plan of the canal and its 
sluices. He relied much on canals as a means of extend- 
ing the inland navigation of his country ; and when canals 
were to be dug with this view, sometimes on marshy and 
almost impassable grounds, he was frequently seen at the 
head of his workmen, digging the earth, and carrying it 
away himself. 
The purpose he had in view in the formation of this 
canal was to establish a communication between the Neva 
and another navigable river for the more easy conveyance 
of merchandise to Petersburg, without making the circuit 
of the coast of the lake, which, from the storms which 
prevailed on the coast, was frequently impassable for barks 
or small vessels, and still is, even for steamers, as I have 
experienced in crossing it. The Emperor levelled the 
ground himself, and the tools and implements used by 
him in digging up and carrying off the earth have been 
carefully preserved. His courtiers followed his example, 
and persistently prosecuted the work, which at the same 
time they looked upon as part of an impracticable under- 
taking. It was not finished till after his death; but at 
length it was completed. ele 
