PHILADELPHIA’S CANAL COMMISSION.

PHILADELPHIA’S CANAL COMMISSION.

AROUTE此种特拉华河和大西洋之间is what the people of Philadelphia are aiming at. Their canal commission, created last year, has issued its first report of the necessary examinations and surveys made by the engineers as to the feasibility of the project and the cost of construction of such a ship canal. Only two routes have been considered worthy of an instrumental examination, both of which embraced the use of the Delaware river to Bordentown, N. J., and thence across New Jersey to Raritan bay and the ocean at Sandy Hook. Each line would leave the river at Crosswick creek, near Bordentown,and ascend by locks to the plateau. One would be connected with the Delaware and Raritan canal a few miles east of Trenton, and following that canal to near Kingston, thence easterly by way of Monmouth Junction to Lawrence brook and the Raritan river, near the mouth of the former stream, twice crossing the main line of the Pennsylvania railroad over some very unfavorable ground between the canal and M‘onmouth Junction—involving such difficulties as to render unnecessary any estimate of cost by such a line. The other, after ascending the plateau on the left bank of the Delaware, follows a line nearly parallel to the Pennsylvania railroad and on its southeasterly side to a point near Monmouth Junction. There it deflects easterly to avoid a trap dike, passes down the valley of Lawrence brook to Parson’s Dam, which forms a long pool, thence north-easterly, on higher ground, but avoiding out-croppings of red shale to the Raritan river at Sayreville. The distance by this route to Sandy Hook is about 78 miles; to the Battery at New York, 92 miles. By way of Cape May and the ocean these distances are about 260 and 274 miles respectively, the canal proper being 31 4-10 miles in length.

Across that part of New Jersey there exists a topographical trough, having a general elevation above the sea level of from from 60 to 100 feet as compared with a general elevation of from 200 to 300 feet on either side. The surface is moderately rolling; the valleys, with few exceptions, are wide and shallow; the soil generally is of sand, clay and gravel. Borings at different points show that between the Delaware and Princeton Junction there will be only sand, gravel and clay to a depth of 28 feet above sea level, or that of the bottom of the largest canal prism proposed. Beyond that at varying depths below the sand and gravel will be found red shales or sandstones, though not in sufficient quantities to increase seriously the cost of excavation for the canal prism—a cost which will be low.