312 



delivered an able address on the subject, 

 '^Niagara Falls of the Future.' 



The speaker, disclaiming- any purpose of 

 antagonizing the splendid industrial develop- 

 ment at ^^iagara, invited attention to the 

 paramount claim of the world to this famous 

 spot as against the commercial claim which 

 threatens to convert it into dollars, and by so 

 doing make an end of the American Falls. 

 The recent comment of Lord Kelvin, that the 

 falls would have to be absorbed to meet in- 

 dustrial demand, was criticized as the ex- 

 pression of the sterile sentiment which has 

 permitted the destruction of the classic Falls 

 of Lodore and has already half ruined the 

 Falls of Montmorency. The speaker insisted 

 that industrial progress must leave something 

 to the higher life, to the play of the finer 

 emotions, and from such a view point no justi- 

 fication or compensation can be found for the 

 destruction of such a stupendous display of 

 nature's power. 



Tliougli it seems to the casual observer that 

 nothing man can do could abate the enormous 

 volume of waters descending in this cataract, 

 and accomplished hydraulic engineers have 

 been known to deride the possibility that the 

 falls would be injured, yet the menace to the 

 perpetuity of the American Falls is imme- 

 diate and imminent. The volume of water 

 descending at Niagara has been measured on 

 several occasions with slightly divergent re- 

 sults giving as an average which has been 

 accepted in the calculations of the engineers 

 224,000 cubic feet per second. This falling 

 an average of 150 feet is equivalent to a 

 potential horse-power of 3,800,000, not of be- 

 tween five and six millions as is constantly 

 stated in the estimates and reports of the 

 engineers. 



The legislature of New York has chartered 

 nine companies for the development of power 

 at this place, all but two to take water from 

 above the falls and return it below, one of 

 these two proposing not to return it to the 

 river at all, but to carry it to Lake Ontario 

 by another passage, the other purposing to 

 take advantage alone of the fall in the gorge 

 Ik'Iow the cataract. Of these nine companies, 

 no one of which is required to pay a francise 



[N. S. Vol. XXI. Xo. .530. 



to the state for its tremendously valuable 

 privileges and some of which are permitted to 

 take unlimited water for their purposes, but 

 two are now actively producing power, and it 

 is believed that but one other is now preparing 

 to do so. The two producing companies are 

 limited by law in the amount of water they 

 may consume, the last named is not. The 

 producing companies are far within their 

 limitations at the present, but in both the 

 waste of water and of power is appalling. 

 The series of small cataracts which cover the 

 American bank just below the steel arch 

 bridge, which are the waste discharges from 

 the power canals and the unused fall of the 

 power tunnel which discharges near the same 

 spot, indicate that but a fraction of the 

 potential power of the water now taken from 

 the American river is utilized. The salvage 

 of this wasted jiower, however, has begun, and 

 its utilization will be continued by the build- 

 ing of factories along the edge of the water 

 beneath the cliff. To save the wasting power 

 of these companies the place must be even 

 worse disfigured than it is at present. 



The Canadian companies, three in number, 

 have now in part completed their installment ; 

 in so doing, however, they have taken from 

 the river great sections of the stream for their 

 forebays and permanent construction. These 

 companies when working will pay a sub' 

 stantial annual return to the commissioners 

 of the Queen Victoria Park. 



The immediately contemplated abstraction 



of water by the six active companies is : 



Cu. ft. per 

 Second 



Two American companies 16,300 



Three Canadian companies 32,100 



48,400 



It is estimated that the third active Ameri- 

 can company will consume 10,000 



SMOO 



The Canadian engineers have proposed four 

 additional power works with a total ab- 

 straction of water of 29,996 



88.396 



The following abstractions from this drainage 

 basin are assumed as constants and are not here 

 taken into consideration. 



Chicago drainage canal 6,000 



Proposed barge canal 1.200 



Welland canal 600 



7^800 



SCIENCE. 



