Near width varying with the character of the material cut through. Port Saïd, and through the shallow lake of Menzaleh, the material is very sandy; and here and elsewhere, under similar circumstances, the slopes must be protected by stone pitching or facing, or they will wash down by the action of passing vessels, and the material thus deposited in the bottom of the canal must be removed by dredging. Further south, the material generally becomes more argillaceous and stony; and here the slopes will be much more easily maintained, though nearly throughout the whole length of the canal some stone protection at the level of the water will be required. Before reaching Lake Timsah, which lies about midway between Port Saïd and Suez, the canal passes through the deep cutting of El Guisr, which at its greatest depth is 85 feet to the bottom of the canal. The lower part of this excavation, at and a little above the level of the water, consists of soft clay, above which is a concreted mass of shells and sand; and this is covered by loose sand liable to be acted on by the wind. The canal here is curved and narrow, and ought to be improved in both respects. It is again restricted in width through the deep cutting at Serapeum; but here, the material being argillaceous and strong, the slope will be easily maintained in shape. From the Bitter Lakes to Suez it is a wide, noble, and well-finished canal. Out of the whole length, nearly 30 miles are through Lake Timsah and the Bitter Lakes, 5 miles in the first, and 23 in the latter. In these lakes a deep channel has been dredged out, which is marked by buoys and stakes. These vast sheets of water in the midst of the Desert, on which so many noble vessels were floating, had been but a few months before mere dry depressions, covered by a stratum of salt. The filling them with water commenced in February from the Mediterranean, and in July from the Red Sea. They were filled by the beginning of October, thus belying one of the many unfavourable prophecies, that the absorption and evaporation would be so great that they would never fill at all, or, if they did, the current inwards in both directions would be so great as to be destructive of the canal. On our voyage from Port Saïd to near Lake Timsah there was a current setting against us towards the Mediterranean. We anchored about mile from the end of this portion of the canal, and at daylight the next morning there was a current in the same direction of nearly 1 mile an hour. Our time of starting from Lake Timsah was purposely delayed till near midday, that we might have the tide from the Red Sea against us, and deep water over the rocks at Serapeum. The current towards Lake Timsah was strong; and on the following morning, between the Bitter Lakes and Suez, it ran at 31⁄2 miles per hour, but a strong southerly wind accompanied the tide. We had no opportunity of making observations ourselves, or of obtaining information; but my impression is that at this season of the year there is on the average of the day a regular current from the Red Sea to the Mediterranean. This is an interesting as well as important question; and it is to be hoped that regular observations will be taken at all points along the canal, and at each end, which may show accurately the rise and fall of tide, the velocity and duration of the currents in each direction, and the relative height of the various portions of the canal and the Lakes it traverses. The range of the tide in the Mediterranean is, as already stated, about 12 inches, while in the Red Sea at Suez it varies from 4 to 6 feet. On the day of the opening thirty-two vessels reached Lake Timsah without let or hindrance; one Egyptian vessel, the Garbia,' coming after this number, stuck fast for some hours about 12 miles from the Lake, and retarded a number of vessels in its rear; but eventually all came forward, and the mighty fleet assembled on Lake Timsah the following day. At Port Said I counted on the day of the inauguration more than ninety vessels, chiefly of the largest class (many being upwards of 2000 tons register), and including a fleet of British "iron-clads," which anchored within the western pier. Here, however, a good deal requires to be done. The harbour is formed by two jetties built of concrete blocks, the western one being run out to sea, at right angles to the shore, for a distance of 2400 metres, and then turned eastwards for 300 metres more. The eastern jetty starts from shore at a distance of 1400 metres from the western pier, is continued out to sea for a length of about 1700 metres, gradually approaching to within about 700 metres of the western jetty at its termination. The western jetty has been erected for protection, and for the purpose of intercepting the sand and alluvial matter which are undoubtedly drifted from the mouth of the Nile eastwards. This work is too light and too open effectually to answer its purpose, and requires improvement. Close in shore a considerable amount of the drifting sand has been arrested, and where the sea recently flowed there is already an accumulation of dry land. On the land thus formed were erected the temple in which the Viceroy received his principal guests at the inauguration, and the temples for the worship of the Mahometan and Christian churches, where all the religions of the world were supposed to be present and to ask a blessing on the great undertaking the opening of which they were assembled to celebrate. In its present condition, the jetty favours the deposit of material within the harbour; and not until the passage of the sand through the interstices of the concrete blocks of which it is built has been checked, will there be any effectual protection against the silting up which is taking place. Perhaps by degrees an inner bank or shoal may be formed, which would answer the purpose of a breakwater; but this would create a crooked and inconvenient channel, and would be ineffective towards the seaward end of the jetty. The Company will no doubt see the necessity of completing the necessary works here and elsewhere. The harbour at Port Saïd and portions of the canal will require pretty constant dredging for some time; but in my opinion neither this nor any other work will entail any very serious expense in maintenance. The cost of the whole undertaking is stated to have been about £16,000,000 sterling; and it may require from £2,000,000 to £4,000,000 more to complete the work satisfactorily on its present scale of dimensions ; but interest has to be paid at present on about half only of the capital hitherto raised. Many persons who are competent to form sound opinions on this point believe that the traffic will be quite sufficient to pay all cost of maintenance and handsome dividends; but I am not sufficiently well informed to hazard any conjecture on the purely financial part of the question. In an engineering point of view I consider the canal a great and most important undertaking-great, however, only as respects its magnitude and the country in which it has been executed. There is not a work of art or of difficulty from one end to the other; but there have been about 80,000,000 cubic yards of material excavated, and at one time nearly 30,000 labourers were employed in the works. For their sustenance, and before operations could be carried on with any vigour, sweet water had to be brought from the Nile at Cairo, and distributed along the whole length of the canal. This work was in itself one of considerable magnitude. It is a navigable canal from Cairo to Ismaïlia, and thence to Suez. From Ismaïlia to Port Saïd and intervening places, the fresh water is conveyed in pipes. The surplus water has been applied to irrigation, the fertilizing results of which are already visible, and may be expected to perform an important part in the improvement of the country. The canal must be regarded as a great work, more from its relation to the national and commercial interests of the world than from its engineering features. In this light it is impossible to overestimate its importance. It will effect a total revolution in the mode of conducting the great traffic between the East and the West, the beneficial effects of which I believe it is difficult to realize. It is in this sense that the undertaking must be regarded as a great one; and its accomplishment is due mainly to the rare courage and indomitable perseverance of M. Ferdinand Lesseps, who well deserves the respect he has created and the praises which have been bestowed. By cutting across the sandy ligaments which have hitherto united Asia and Africa, a channel of water-communication has been opened between the East and the West which will never again be closed so long as mercantile prosperity lasts or civilization exists. I cannot close this letter without expressing my obligations to Mr. Pender, Chairman of the Eastern Telegraphic Companies, who courteously entertained me, with other friends, on our passage through the canal on board the 'Hawk,' a steam corvette belonging to the Electric Telegraph Construction Company, which had been placed at his disposal. On board this vessel were assembled a small body of distinguished and intelligent gentlemen, who had more than usual opportunities of obtaining such information as time and circumstances afforded. I have the honour to remain, Very truly and faithfully yours, JOHN FRED. BATEMAN. Lieut.-General Sir Edward Sabine, P.R.S., K.C.B. Memorandum as to the Dimensions of the Canal. The following, it is believed, are the dimensions on which the canal has been constructed. They are principally extracted from Mr. Fowler's letter. The canal is intended throughout to be 8 metres, or 26 ft. 4 in. in depth. In every case this depth is to be maintained for a width at the bottom in the centre of 72 feet, with slopes on each side of 2 horizontal to 1 vertical to within a few feet of the surface. In the wider portions of the canal the sides above this level are formed with flat slopes of 5 horizontal to 1 vertical, with a horizontal bench between the two slopes of 58 feet in width. A narrower bench is left where the canal is of the smaller width. On board the Hawk' soundings were taken along the whole length of the canal. Between Port Saïd and Lake Timsah the soundings near the centre of the canal, on both sides of the vessel, showed a depth varying from 21 ft. to 29 ft., the greater number being from 24 to 29. In Lake Timsah the depth, according to soundings, was from 19 to 23 ft. Between Lake Timsah and the Bitter Lakes there were no soundings less than 21 ft., except over the rocks at Serapeum, where vessels drawing 16 ft. only could pass. In the Bitter Lakes the depth was seldom below 28 ft., often above 30 ft.; and the same may be said of the canal between the Bitter Lakes and the Red Sea at Suez. On each side of the deep part in the centre the depth was generally about 12 or 13 ft. Where the slopes are unprotected by stone, and the natural soil is sandy, the sides, notwithstanding the flat slope, were a good deal washed when a paddle-wheel steamer (the 'Delta,' P. & O. 1600 tons) advanced at seven or eight miles an hour; but comparatively little effect was produced when the speed did not exceed five or six miles an hour. Two large vessels will find it difficult to pass each other; but "lie-by or passing-places are being constructed to remedy this inconvenience. J. F. B. January 13, 1870. WARREN DE LA RUE, Vice-President, in the Chair. The Presents received were laid on the Table, and thanks ordered for them, as follows: Transactions. Basel-Naturforschende Gesellschaft. Verhandlungen. Theil V. Heft 2. Bern: Naturforschende Gesellschaft. Mittheilungen, aus dem Jahre 1868. Buenos Aires --Museo Publico. Anales, por German Burmeister. Entrega 6. 4to. Buenos Aires 1869. The Museum Einsiedeln :-Schweizerische Naturforschende Gesellschaft. The Society. Göttingen: Königl. Sternwarte. Astronomische Mittheilungen. Theil I. 4to, Göttingen 1869. The Royal Society of Göttingen. Graz-Naturwissenschaftlicher Verein für Steiermark. Mittheilungen. Band II. Heft 1. 8vo. Graz 1869. The Society. Haarlem :- -Musée Teyler. Archives. Vol. II. Fasc. 3. roy. 8vo. Haarlem 1869. The Museum. London:-Quekett Microscopical Club. Journal. Nos. 7-9. Fourth Report. 8vo. London 1869-70. The Club. Utrecht-Provinciaal Utrechtsch Genootschap van Kunsten en Weten schappen. Natuurkundige Verhandelingen. Nieuwe Reeks. Deel I. |