Industrial Niagara 



over the fall. A more serious cause of low water is an ice jam at 1894 

 the head of the Niagara River. It is on record that in March, Le Sueur 

 1 847, the water practically ceased to flow, " not enough going 

 over to turn a grindstone," as a local paper had it at the time. 

 These two circumstances do not, however, affect the evenness of 

 the flow to any extent worth mentioning compared with the 

 seasonal variations in rivers in general. 



The total fall between Lakes Erie and Ontario is three hundred 

 and twenty-nine feet, and is made up as follows: From Lake 

 Erie to the head of the falls, seventy feet; the falls, one hundred 

 and sixty-one feet, and below to Lake Ontario, ninety-eight feet. 

 Consequently, the total power running to waste is more than 

 double the five million horse power on the falls. An idea of the 

 proportion that this total bears to what may be called the world's 

 consumption of power may be had from the fact that it is com- 

 puted to be equal to the total of all the steam-generated power in 

 the world. 



The geographical situation of the falls with respect to nearness 

 to the at present great power-consuming centers is, as hinted above, 

 not quite all that could be desired; but there are, nevertheless, 

 several cities within reach, electrically speaking, which will use an 

 enormous amount. Buffalo may be said to be next door, and 

 Rochester is within easy reach. In the not too distant future we 

 may expect to see the great electrical manufacturing works in 

 Schenectady operated, as is meet, by electrical power from 

 Niagara. 



The power company has, however, made branch track connec- 

 tions between the territory owned by it and three important rail- 

 way lines which all pass within a few miles of the property. 

 These connections and the good freight rates which have been 

 contracted for in various directions, together with the cheapness 

 of power, will in all likelihood attract to the spot manufactures 

 besides those which have already undertaken to go there, to an 

 extent that will make it the foremost power-consuming center in 

 the world. 



947 



