three on the upper Carson and one on the lower Carson. An interesting feature is the use of concrete in the construction of these reservoirs and for lining portions of the canals, but especially for lining throughout the three tunnels along the Truckee. Provision has been made for accidents to the canal by the construction of two wasteways, by which the waters of the canal can be quickly emptied. into the Truckee river, and in case of overflow two spillways will throw the excess of water back into the river again.

It is popularly supposed that the providing of water for spreading over an arid region is all that is necessary to insure its reclamation. But this provision would be of small advantage if a complementary drainage system were not provided, not only to prevent what is called the water-logging of the soil, but also to keep the alkali, so large in amount in arid regions, from ruining its productiveness by becoming concentrated. Such a drainage system has been provided, although it has increased the cost from $5 to $10 an acre. It will take eight years to complete the entire work, which will cost, according to estimate, $9,000,000, a good percentage of the $17,000,000 spoken of above.

In Arizona the engineers of the Reclamation Service are constructing what will be, when completed, the highest dam in the world-250 feet high. The waters to be retained by this dam will irrigate 250,000 acres of land about Phoenix. The project, known as the Salt River Reclamation Project, is to cost $3,000,000. The engineering problems involved can be imagined from the fact that before the dam could be commenced eighty miles of road had to be constructed. An instance of economy in engineering is furnished in connection with the building of the dam. Cement delivered at the dam site would have cost $4.81 a barrel. The government can make it for $1.60 a barrel. The plant for making this cement cost $120,000, which will make the total cost of each of the 200,000 barrels needed $2.20, making a total saving of $522,000.

THE ANTI-TRADE WINDS.

The existence of the steadily blowing winds from the northeast and northwest in the Northern Hemisphere, and from the southeast and southwest in the Southern, is a familiar fact in meteorology. The northeast and southeast winds, being usually below the other two, are more popularly known as the "trade winds," although the others ought to be included in this designation also. Some meteorologists have claimed the existence of an anti-trade wind belt blowing

from the southeast, south and southwest, above the trades. This has been denied by others, who claim that the observed phenomena, which gave the foundation for this theory, were purely local. In the October number of the QUARTERLY we inserted a notice of some experiments which were being carried on over a portion of the tropical Atlantic, under the auspices of Mr. A. Lawrence Rotch, of the well-known Blue Hill Observatory, and Mr. L. Teisserenc de Bort, of the Observatory of Trappes. In the words of these gentlemen, from a communication to Nature: "The results confirm the accepted theory of the trades and upper anti-trade in those parts. of the Atlantic explored by the Otaria (between latitudes II and 37 degrees north, longitudes 15 and 26 degrees west), and prove that, contrary to the opinion of Professor Hergesell, there exists a return current or anti-trade, with a well-defined southerly component."

THE PANAMA CANAL.

The widely prevalent interest in this great waterway, the completion of which means so much for the commerce of the world, will be sufficient justification for a description of the various plans under discussion and for a resumé of the advantages and disadvantages of each.

As the crow flies, the distance between Colon on the Atlantic side of the Isthmus and Panama on the Pacific is about thirty-six miles; but the route which the canal will follow, which is that of the present Panama Railroad, is about twenty miles longer. The original plan of the old Panama Canal Company called for a sea-level canal, with a depth of 29.5 feet, a bottom width of 72 feet and a total length of 47 miles. Leading direct from Colon, it ran to Gatun, six miles to the southeast of Colon, where it entered the valley of the Chagres river, which it was to follow for a distance of twenty-one miles to Obispo, passing thence into the valley of a small tributary of the Chagres, cutting through the continental divide at Colebra and going by way of the valley of the Rio Grande to the Bay of Panama. At the point where the canal cuts it the Culebra divide is 334 feet above sea level. Here is situated the great "Culebra Cut." A difficulty in this plan, as in all others, was the control of the flood waters of the Chagres river, floods sometimes reaching enormous proportions. The method that appealed most to the engineers was that of damming the waters of the upper river and leading the surplus waters off by two independent channels. De Lesseps estimated the cost of this canal at $127,000,000, and required eight years

for its completion. When it was found impossible to build in this time with the money then available, an expedient of a lock canal for temporary use was adopted, but this, too, failed, and work ceased altogether in May, 1889.

The new Panama Canal Company declared for a lock canal. The French engineers offered two plans. In one there were two levels above the sea, the one on the Atlantic side created by damming the Chagres at Bohio, about sixteen miles from Colon; the other, the summit level, to be supplied by water from a reservoir in the upper Chagres valley, the ascent to these and the descent to the Pacific levels to be made in each case by a flight of two locks. In the other plan there was only one level above the sea, that of the enormous Lake Bohio, formed by the damming of the Chagres at that place, which would be entensive enough to control the floods, or nearly so. This plan is fundamentally that of the first Isthmian Canal Commission, except that, for good reasons, the engineers of this commission would raise the level of Lake Bohio from 32 to 90 feet above sea level. The present commission, however, favors a sea level canal. They would control the waters of the Chagres by a dam at Gamboa near Obispo. Indeed the advantages of this site for a dam over that at Bohio must have greatly influenced their decision. The differences in the height of the tides on either side of the Isthmus would be regulated by a tidal lock at Minaflores, six miles from the Bay of Panama. This sea level canal would cost $230,500,000 and would take from ten to twelve years to construct. In the opinion of the engineering committee of the commission this time and expense are both justified. The advantages of the sea level project over the lock canal are summed up by the committee as follows: "It would be a waterway with no restriction to navigation, and which could easily be enlarged by widening or deepening, at any time in the future, to accommodate an increased traffic without any inconvenience to the shipping using it, whereas a lock canal is in reality a permanent restriction to the volume of traffic and size of ships that use it. Although it is possible to design and construct locks adapted to the future transformation to a sea level canal, that transformation cannot be made without serious inconvenience to navigation and at a cost so great as to be exces

sive.

"The additional cost of a sea level canal over that of a canal with locks, with a summit level of 60 feet above mean tide, is $52,462,000, or $79,742,000 more than the estimated cost of the lock canal with a summit level 85 feet above mean tide, proposed by the former Isthmian Canal Commission, after allowing $6,500,000 for the Colon breakwater and direct entrance not previously estimated."

In the popular mind the problem of excavation is the most prominent feature and the most absorbing. But there is another problem, of lesser magnitude perhaps, but whose solution is, or rather was, for it has been well-nigh completed, vital to the success of the digging-the problem of sanitation. During the operations of the French company the loss of life from fever and disease was frightful. Much of this loss, if not all, could be traced to the filth that abounded everywhere. There was no drainage and no pure water supply. Fever-bearing mosquitoes bred in millions. Conditions, in fact, were so awful that there was great difficulty in obtaining sufficient labor. Under the direction of Governor Magoon a transformation is being effected. The whole Isthmus is being literally scrubbed and fumigated. The effect of this is shown by the following figures, taken from an address by Theodore P. Shonts, chairman of the Isthmian Canal Commission. In June last there were 62 cases of yellow fever there; in July, 42; in August, 27; in September, 6, and in October, the worst month of the year for yellow fever, 3. In August, 1882, the second year of the French occupancy, with a force of 1,900 men, the death rate was 112 per 1,000. In August, 1905, with a force of 12,000 men, there were only eight deaths, or two-thirds of a man per 1,000. To use a hackneyed phrase, "these figures speak for themselves."

THE NORTHWEST PASSAGE.

A report has just come from Alaska that the historic Northwest Passage, the goal of many explorers for centuries, has been at last discovered and traversed by Captain Roand Amundsen, of Norway, who also succeeded in locating definitely the North Magnetic Pole on King William Island. The report has not been confirmed, but it has all the appearances of truthworthiness.

Boston, Mass.

M. J. AHERN, S. J.

Book Reviews

THE POLITICAL HISTORY OF ENGLAND.

In twelve volumes.

Edited by

William Hunt, D. Litt., and Reginald L. Poole, M. A. Vol. II. From the Norman Conquest to the Death of John (1066-1216). By George Burton Adams, Professor of History in Yale University. Vol. X. From the Accession of George III. to the Close of Pitt's First Administration (1760-1801). By William Hunt, M. A., D. Litt., President of the Royal Historical Society.

Demy, 8vo., each about 500 pages, with index and maps.

Sold separately or in sets. Each volume complete. New York: Longmans, Green & Co.

This is one of the most important literary announcements of the year. England has occupied so large a place in the world's history, especially in former times, that she is constantly in the student's eye. No other country has had so many historians, and yet time passes so rapidly and events succeed one another so quickly that a permanent periodical publication would be required to keep pace with them. Since the student has not time to follow such a history, even if it were written, he must look forward with much pleasure to the production of a work like that before us.

It is being completed quickly because it does not depend on the labors of one man only, but is the joint production of a corps of able editors chosen because of their special fitness for the work; it is being written at a specially opportune time, when the accumulation of materials for such a work is most encouraging; and it is called a political history, not because it records political events only, but because it is written from the political point of view, which has always been the most prominent point in English history.

We hope in the future to be able to examine the merits of the work in greater detail, and to quote from it that our readers may understand the temper of the editors on mooted points. For the present we cannot do more than call attention to the necessity for such a history, to the excellent planning of the publishers and to the promise of ultimate success in every particular which the appearance of the first three volumes holds out to us. We consider the work sufficiently important to print the publisher's announcement and description of the volumes entire:

"Seventy-five years have passed since Lingard completed his 'History of England,' which ends with the Revolution of 1688. During that period historical study has made a great advance. Year after year the mass of materials for a new history of England has increased; new lights have been thrown on events and characters, and old errors have been corrected. Many notable works have been