about 700 feet above the shore end of the easterly pier, appears to have been extended and maintained.

In 1876 the project was modified to obtain by dredging a channel of navigable width, not less than 4 feet deep at mean low water, from the mouth of the river up about 1 miles to Kennebunkport, at an estimated cost of $5,000.

With the amount ($83,667.50) expended on the original and modified projects to 1893, when they were reported completed (Annual Report, Chief of Engineers for 1893, p. 713), a westerly pier 600 feet, an easterly pier 290 feet, and a wharf 300 feet in length appear to have been extended and maintained, and a channel of navigable width, 4 feet deep at mean low water, obtained by dredging and rock excavation.

In December, 1902, an estimate was submitted, amounting to $3,500, for the repair of the two piers and the wharf.

The maximum draft that can be carried at mean low water, on June 30, 1904, over the shoalest part of the locality under improvement is 4 feet. The mean range of tide is 9 feet.

The head of navigation is at Kennebunkport, to which point, 14 miles from its mouth, the river is navigable in fact.

The commerce benefited consists principally of coal, of which 3,000 tons was delivered on the river in 1903. An occasional vessel brings in lumber for the shipyards, of which there are two at this point.

A description of the improvement at the mouth of the river may be found in the Annual Report of the Chief of Engineers for 1870, page 506, and of the channel above the mouth in the report for 1875, Part 2, page 434.

Amount that can be profitably expended in fiscal year ending June 30, 1906, for maintenance of improvement..

COCHECO RIVER, NEW HAMPSHIRE.

$3,500.00

Appropriations amounting to $10,060, made from 1829 to 1837, inclusive, had been applied to the reduction of obstructions in the natural channel prior to the systematic improvement of this river, begun in 1870, when it was found to have a good channel not less than 6 feet deep at mean low water, from its confluence with the Piscataqua River to the Lower Narrows, about 14 miles below the lowest bridge at Dover. Above the Lower Narrows the channel was obstructed by ledges and shoals, upon which at mean low water the depth was from 6 inches to 2 feet. The original project for systematic improvement, adopted by the act of March 3, 1871, was to obtain a channel 40 feet wide and 4 feet deep at mean low water from the Lower Narrows to the head of navigation at Dover. Under the original and amended projects completed in 1888, the amount expended prior to operations under the existing project, including the expenditures from 1829 to 1837, was $170,060.

The existing project, adopted by the act of September 19, 1890, is to obtain a channel 60 to 75 feet wide and 7 feet deep at mean low water (in rock 50 feet wide and 74 feet deep) from the mouth of the river to the head of navigation, at an estimated cost of $175,000. By the act of June 13, 1902, this project was extended to include the restoration of the channel in the Lamprey River, which from 1881-1883 under specific appropriations had been dredged at mean high water 100 feet wide and 12 feet deep to the Lower Narrows, and 40 feet wide and 11 feet deep to the wharves at Newmarket, N. H.

To June 30, 1904, there has been expended on the existing project on Cocheco River, all for improvement, $110,843.40 and on Lamprey River, all for maintenance, $8,267.53-total, $119,110.93, with which the channel in the Lamprey River has been restored to the full authorized dimensions, and a channel has been obtained in the Cocheco River of the full projected width and depth, except for a distance of 1,400 feet about three-fourths of a mile below Dover, over which the greatest continuous depth is 6 feet. The removal of ledges and shoals obstructing the channel in this locality and the construction of contraction works for maintenance of the channel below the narrows will complete the project.

June 30, 1904, the maximum draft that can be carried over the shoalest part of the locality under improvement is, in Cocheco River, 64 feet at mean low water; in Lamprey River, 11 feet at high water. The mean range of tides is 6.8 feet.

The head of navigation is at the lowest bridge at Dover, to which point, 3 miles from its confluence with the Piscatauqua River and 13 miles from its outlet to the sea, the Cocheco River is navigable in fact.

The commerce benefited by the improvement consists chiefly of coal and building materials, and amounted in 1901 to 199,890 tons, in 1902 to 121,000 tons, and in 1903 to 200,526 tons, an increase of more than 300 per cent in the ten years past.

The original project adopted in 1871 is published in the Annual Report, Chief of Engineers for 1871, page 858; the existing project, adopted in 1890, in the Annual Report for 1890, page 475. A map of Cocheco River, in the vicinity of Dover, may be found in the Annual Report for 1885, page 474.

Amount (estimated) required for completion of existing project.......... Amount that can be profitably expended in fiscal year ending June 30, 1906, for works of improvement, in addition to the balance unexpended July 1, 1904 ...

HARBOR AT BURLINGTON, Vt.

$21, 710. 93

4,000.00

Before improvement there was ample depth of water along the docks and wharves, but they were without protection against wind and seas from Lake Champlain. In the greatest exposure during the prevalent northwesterly gales the wind has a sweep obliquely across the lake of about 10 nautical miles.

The original project, adopted by the act of July 4, 1836, was to build a breakwater parallel with the shore and about 1,000 feet from the docks and wharves.

Under the original and modified projects, the amount expended for construction prior to the adoption of the project of 1886 was $501,811.07, with which 3,560 feet of breakwater was built.

The existing project, adopted in 1886, is to extend the breakwater 1,500 feet (500 feet northerly and 1,000 feet southerly), at an estimated cost of $150,000, enlarged in 1894 and 1902 to embrace repairs and replacing the crib superstructure (4,153 feet) with one of stone or concrete, at a cost estimated at $173,750, a total of $323,750.

Under the existing project there was expended to June 30, 1904, $128,383.52, of which $59,738.69 was applied to extending the breakwater 603 feet (363 feet northerly and 240 feet southerly), making the total length of the structure 4,163 feet; and the sum of $68,644.83 was applied to repairs and rebuilding 1,820.5 feet of superstructure.

The extreme variation of level of water surface is 6 feet and the usual variation about 4 or 5 feet.

The commerce amounted in 1900 to 131,226 tons, in 1901 to 108,234 tons, in 1902 to 102,825 tons, and in 1903 to 106,763 tons, of which, in 1903, 57 per cent was coal, 26 per cent building material, and 17 per cent general merchandise.

Amount (estimated) required for completion of existing project................ Amount that can be profitably expended in fiscal year ending June 30, 1906, for maintenance of improvement, in addition to the balance unexpended July 1, 1904........

$161,855.00

35,000.00

The following description of the existing project for repairs and maintenance may be found in the Annual Report of the Chief of Engineers for 1901, page 1072.

UNITED STATES ENGINEER OFFICE,
New York City, December 20, 1900. ·

GENERAL: I have the honor to submit the following special report upon the condition of the breakwater at Burlington, Vt.:

This breakwater is built in Lake Champlain in front of the city, and forms a harbor for the protection of the wharves and shipping at this point.

The length of the main structure is 3,803 feet, and there is also a detached section 350 feet long, placed 200 feet north of the main section.

The substructure of the entire work is of timber cribs filled with stone and was built at different periods from 1836 to 1890, the last work being the detached section. Its trace is very irregular, the object apparently being to follow a line approximately parallel to the shore. The width of the breakwater varies from 24 to 36 feet, its height being 8 feet above low water, and the depth of water is about 30 feet.

The character of the work also varies with the date of construction, the older parts being largely of round timber fastened with wooden pins, while during more recent periods squared timber, iron bolted, was used.

Originally the superstructure was of timber and stone, the cross section varying from the full width of the cribs to a narrow parapet on the lake side, 10 or 12 feet wide.

In recent years some portions of the decayed timber superstructure have been replaced by a stone parapet, 24 feet wide at base, with sloping sides. The interior portion of this parapet was composed of riprap and the sides and top surface formed of large stones. On the lake side these slabs of stone rest against the upper timbers of the outer wall, producing more or less thrust, which in some cases proved to be greater than the wall could resist. Doubtless fibrations in the structure during heavy storms added materially to the strain. The result has been that the outer wall has given way in places, allowing the large stones to slip into the lake and exposing the core of riprap to destruction. So serious has this damage become in one of the sections that emergency repairs were made during the present season, but, owing to the advent of very severe weather, the work was only partially completed.

During the past season a section of concrete superstructure has been built to replace a part of the decayed and crumbling timber work. It is a monolithic arch having a rubble core, and rests upon concrete footing blocks, which were placed upon a carefully prepared foundation below the water surface. The width at bottom is 16 feet, and the top is 8 feet above low water.

The outer line of footing blocks is nearly flush with the lake wall of the substructure; but on the inner side a eonsiderable berm was left, which was intended to be covered with planking below the surface of the water.

Several storms of rather more than usual violence have occurred during the late autumn, which have seriously tested the entire superstructure and have caused much damage at several places.

It was expected that the old and rotten timber work would suffer, but the damage to the more recent stone parapet was also serious, and, as stated above, considerable immediate repairs were made upon one of the sections to prevent greater destruction. The concrete section had been in place but a few days when a heavy storm came up, but it sustained no injury whatever, though the plank decking back of it, which was not fully fastened down, was torn away, carrying with it some of the timber structure below. This result was due to the character of the old work, as it was afterwards discovered that the wooden pins and dovetails which were intended to held the timbers in place had become so worn by the action of the waves during a period of over fifty years that there was practically no connection between the upper

courses of the old timbers.

How far down this defective condition extended was not ascertained, but a careful examination will be made in the spring to discover this fact.

I have carefully examined the entire superstructure of this breakwater during the past season and my assistant, Mr. Kelsey, was directed to make a report of its condition. I am therefore enabled to state that the entire superstructure should be rebuilt in a substantial manner within the next few years, and that about 2,100 feet thereof should be reconstructed at the earliest possible date. This is necessary to preserve the main work and protect the wharves of the harbor from damage by storms. I therefore recommend that the matter be submitted to Congress with a view to obtaining a suitable appropriation to carry on the work continuously until completed, and would further recommend that the new work be of concrete, substantially in accordance with the section now in progress.

Under the present contract the concrete superstructure is costing about $30 per linear foot, but as it may not be possible to secure as low bids another season on account of the unforeseen expense of tearing down the old work and preparing the foundation for the new superstructure, I now estimate the cost at $35 per linear foot, which is still less than was paid for the stone parapet last constructed.

The length requiring immediate renewal is 2,100 feet, less 450 feet now under construction, leaving 1,650 feet, which, at $35 per foot, will require $57,750. The work should be provided for under one appropriation or else put under the continuouscontract system, so that there will be no delay in completing it, otherwise great damage may happen to the breakwater, which would require a far greater expenditure in repair work than is now proposed.

In addition to the above, provision should be made for the reconstruction of the remainder of the superstructure, 2,053 feet, which, at $35 per foot, will cost $71,855. The expenditure of this amount will probably be required upon the completion of the work now urgently needed.

Very respectfully, your obedient servant,

Brig. Gen. JOHN M. WILSON,

Chief of Engineers, U. S. A.

J. W. BARLOW, Colonel, Corps of Engineers.

The $57,750 named in the foregoing as required for immediate renewal was appropriated in the act of 1902. The present bill provides for the $71,855 required for the reconstruction of the remainder of the superstructure.

NARROWS OF LAKE CHAMPLAIN, NEW YORK AND VERMONT.

In its original condition the 15 miles of this waterway, extending from the northern terminus of the Champlain Canal, at Whitehall, northerly to Benson Landing, Vermont, had a narrow and tortuous channel, not more than 9 feet to 10 feet deep on the shoals at low

water.

The original project, adopted by the act of August 5, 1886, was to obtain, by dredging and by a small amount of rock excavation, a channel with a least width of 150 feet and depth of 12 feet at low water from Whitehall to deep water below Benson Landing, a distance of 15 miles. On the original project (as extended in 1890 to widen and straighten the middle reaches of the channel) the amount expended prior to operations under existing project was $43,500.

The existing project, adopted by the act of March 3, 1899, is to widen the channel and restore it to the depth of 12 feet at mean low water in five localities, also to provide fenders for protecting barges from collision with the rocky banks of the channel, at an estimated cost of $22,500.

To June 30, 1904, the amount expended under the existing project was $22,707.12, all for improvement, with which the project has been completed, except the providing of fenders along the rocky banks. To June 30, 1904, the maximum draft that can be carried over the

shoalest part of the locality under improvement is 12 feet at low water. The extreme variation of level of water surface is 6 feet and the usual variation about 4 or 5 feet.

From the head of the Narrows at Whitehall navigation is continued by the Champlain Canal to the Hudson River.

The commerce consists principally of coal, pulp wood, building material, and general merchandise, and amounted in 1900 to 714,741 tons, in 1901 to 550,331 tons, in 1902 to 395,234 tons, and in 1903 to 590,789 tons, of which in 1903 34 per cent was coal.

Amount that can be profitably expended in fiscal year ending June 30, 1906, for maintenance of improvement, in addition to the balance unexpended July 1, 1904

HARBOR AT NEWBURYPORT, MASS.

$2,500.00

Prior to specific appropriations for Newburyport Harbor funds applicable to Merrimac River, of which it is the estuary, were devoted to removing a sand bar and constructing a breakwater at the river's mouth, 1828 to 1836, and to removing obstructing ledges, piers, and wrecks, 1870 to 1880. In its original condition the outlet of the Merrimac River, which between Plum. Island and Salisbury Point was 1,000 feet wide and 30 feet deep at mean low water, was obstructed by a sand bar, nearly a mile outside, through which, in 1880, a narrow channel about 7 feet deep at mean low water was maintained by the current of the river.

The original project, adopted by the act of June 14, 1880, which is the existing project, is to create at the outer bar a permanent channel 1,000 feet wide and at least 17 feet deep at mean low water, by constructing two converging jetties, projecting, one from the north shore 2,910 feet, the other from the south shore 1,500 feet, their outer ends 1,000 feet apart, which, with the protection of the beach in their vicinity, was estimated in 1881 to cost $365,000. The direction of jetties and shore protection was modified in 1883, and in 1882 the partial closing of Plum Island Basin with a timber dike about 800 feet long and 5 feet above mean low water was added to the project, increasing the cost (as estimated in 1884) to $375,000. In 1884 a modification of the project provided for extending both jetties 610 feet parallel to the axis of the channel, and in 1886 for increasing that extension to 1,000 feet. increasing the cost of the work, as estimated in 1897, to $589,547.49. To June 30, 1904, the amount expended on this project was $335,783.40, of which $647.46 was expended in 1900 for maintenance. With that expenditure the north jetty has been completed for a total length of 2,705 feet and the south jetty for 2,050 feet; the Plum Island Basin has been closed with a timber dike 817 feet long, 5 feet high above mean low water, except near the middle, where a weir 150 feet long and 2 feet above mean low water was left temporarily, and two sand catchers, respectively 480 and 572 feet in length, have been built in rear of the south jetty. Both jetties are 15 feet wide on top, which is in a plane 12 feet above mean low water, and have slopes of 1 on 2 on the seaward face and 1 on 1 on the shoreward face.

June 30, 1904, the maximum draft that can be carried over the bar at mean low water is 12 feet. The mean range of tides is 7.7 feet. The commerce of the harbor consists chiefly of coal and brick, of which there were reported, in 1900, 128,440 tons; in 1901, 183,000 tons: