HYDROLOGY OF NEW YORK 



787 



These several improvements, while necessary for a complete sys- 

 tem of navigation of the Great lakes do not otherwise specially 

 apply to the State of New York, and are therefore not given here. 

 They may be found in detail in the report of the board. 



The utilization of natural waterways. Probably the particular 

 feature which most deserves attention in the deep waterways sur- 

 veys is that they are a utilization of natural waterways and not 

 in any sense artificial channels. Of the total distance from Buf- 

 falo to New York (477 miles) only 102 miles are in standard 

 canal section, and 98 miles are in canalized rivers from 250 to 

 1000 feet in width. The remaining 277 miles are in open lakes 

 and rivers, where a vessel can make nearly or quite as good time 

 as she can on the open waters of Lake Erie or Lake Huron. On 

 the Barge canal about 200 miles, or nearly double the distance, is 

 in artificial channel. 



This, taken in connection with the liberal size adopted for the 

 canal section, will enable vessels to make a very high speed on this 

 route. The estimates have been worked out with care, from the 

 known time occupied by vessels in passing the Sault lock and the 

 St Clair canal, checking them by the most thorough investigation 

 of all available data of the speed of vessels in existing ship 

 canals. The result shows that a vessel of 11,700 tons displace- 

 ment and 8600 tons of cargo capacity would take 61 hours to 

 make the passage from Buffalo to New York city, 477 miles. 

 About 7 hours are required for the passage from Buffalo through 

 the Niagara river and down the flight of locks to Lake Ontario; 

 11 hours more through the open waters of Lake Ontario bring the 

 vessel to Oswego. About 17 hours are then required for the pas- 

 sage up the Oswego valley and through the long canal section to 

 the pools of the Mohawk river (of which about two hours are 

 spent in traversing the open waters of Lake Oneida). Then 9y 2 

 hours are required for the passage down the Mohawk valley; 8 

 hours for the passage from there to the Hudson, and 12 hours for 

 the run down the Hudson to New York. 1 



The preferable route. The following in regard to comparison 

 of the waterways is taken from the Keport of the Board of 

 Engineers : 



Abstract from editorial in Engineering News. 



