THE WORLD'S GREAT CANALS,

Wanganui Herald, Volume XXXXI, Issue 12188, 8 June 1907, Page 4

THE WORLD'S GREAT CANALS,

Thkkp. a ip nine great feliip canals in the World, .UHI .ill of <li<--ic- l.ni-o boen bmlfc \Mlbiii Die last "10 years. Tliey are tha Suez Canal, the Cionstadt aud St. Petersburg Canal, tho Corinth Canal, tho Manchostor yiiip Canal, the Kaiaor Williolm, tho i:i be and Travc, the Wclland. and th» two canals connecting Lakc»Supcrior aud Lako Huron, between Canada and America. In a single year a greater number oi ship* pass through the lake cau.ilß of America than through tdie Suez Canal, though there is no doubt that the latter is b^ far the most important water link in th» world. It to the longest, being 90 mileafrom entrance to exit, and it cost mow than .£20,000,000 to build. About 4000 »hip« pass through the Sue Canal annually. It takes 18 hours for a vessel to go the entir* length of the canal. There are no locks, and a part of the route, about two-third» of it, is made- up of a series of shallow lakes. The Cronstadt and St. Petersburg Canal i« altogether about 15 miles, including the bay channel. It is an important commercial waterway, and connects the capital of Russia with the Bay of Cronstart. After the construction of the Corinth Canal, which is only four miles long, a saving of 175 miles was made by chip* sailing from Adriatic ports. A part of this canal was cut through solid rock, and, short as it is, it took nine years to build. A direct route from Manchester, England, to the Atlantic Ocean was obtained by th» digging of tho Manchester Canal. From Manchester ships now go through the artificial waterway to the Mersey River, and from there to the open sea. This canal • fitted with hydraulic locks. For the express use and convenience of military and naval forces the Kaiser Wilhelm Canal was begun in 1887, and completed less than 10 years later. Since it has been opened it ha« been found of great value to mercantile traffic. The canal ia 61 miles long,' and extends from Kiel, on the Baltic, to the North Sea. The Elbe and Trave Canal » another important connecting link between the Baltic and North Sea*. In America are three great canals, all of them links between the Great Lakes. The Welland connects Lake Ontario and Lake Erie, oh the Canadian side of the river. It- is 27 mile* long, and has 25 sets of look*.