3 o2 THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY 



The freightage was the natural product of its own littoral. The 

 demand for canals was so urgent that as early as 1768 it was designed 

 to connect Oneida Lake and the Mohawk by the improvement of Wood 

 Creek. In 1792 the legislature passed the act. To this day old 

 wooden locks may be found upon Wood Creek. Central New York 

 was the first stimulus to the canal system of the state. It paid even 

 at that early date. It reduced the cost of transportation from $32 to 

 $16 per ton on the cargo. This great reduction in price " actually 

 doubled the intrinsic value of the lands and produce around our 

 lakes." 1 If the reader were able to see the insignificance of the little 

 ditch of Wood Creek he could not realize the grand total of the result. 



Old Oneida Lake, Wooden Locks. 



A few details will prove that the cheapening of carriage and the 

 earning capacity of the canal was under- rather than over-estimated. 

 The toll on a barrel of flour passing 100 miles was 52 cents and for a 

 ton of goods passing the same distance was $5.75. The rapidity with 

 which its earning capacity increased is not less remarkable. The 

 capital stock of the western company was $232,000, which paid to the 

 stockholders a dividend of 3 per cent, in 1798, 3.5 in 1813, 4.5 in 

 1815 and 8 per cent, in 1816. 



The rights of this company were acquired by the state in 1820, 

 for $151,000. The middle division cost $1,125,983. If we add to 

 this double the amount for enlargement, the sum of $2,570,000 was 



1 State Engineer's Report, 1862. 



