THE SUEZ CANAL.
Anglo-Australian .writes in the , European Mail “ Many have been the rumors about the failure of the .Suez Canal, either from the drift sand ofthe desert or from evaporation, but very few of us were prepared for the contingency of its being salted up. It appears, however, that the whole canal is likely to become a colossal salt-pan. The sun is fierce in the land of Chein, and added to it is the hot blast produced by the burning sands of the desert. Under such conditions the evaporation must be great. The water was let into the canal six years ago, and a correspondent furnishes the Morning Post with some interesting data 1 which indicates the action which has been going on. Thirty-seven' pounds of 'seawater is said to contain 11b. of salt '; the wider at the Bed Sea at SnCz- contains sometliihglike this proportion, as indicated by tbe.salinometer. In the Bitter Bakes • it has been fotihd that every 371bs. of the. water already holds 21bs. of salt in solution'. With this fact before us it seems certain that the fate that,befel Lot’s, wife will be that of the Suez Canal. If the amount of salt -is doubled in six years, how many years till ‘it becomes a solid mass ? The answer cannot bo difficult. ' When time has realised this sad history, a pillar of salt will then be a most fitting monument upon which to write the epitaph of M, Bessep’s grand work. Scientific facts and figures seem as cold and remorseless as an Oriental ; executioner; and the one wipes out a great';and useful work with as much indifference a 8 the other sweeps off the head of a victim. As ho one can look on, or even listen to the talc pf an execution without some touch of sympathy, so no one could possibly hear of the Suez Canal becoming useless without a pang of regret; it is, therefore, satisfactory to know that there are .some other elomCnts to be’considered'betides those already given. Water can only hold acertain amount of salt in solution, after which it will come to the surface and form a crust. Such a crust is to be seen on the borders of the Dead Sea, and op the Salt,.Bakes of Ladak, only it is to be remembered that these lakes are fed by streams,’ or rivers of fresh water, such as the Jordan, and contain an infinitesimal amount of salt in comparison to that which flows into the Bitter Lakes from the Bed Sea. What has taken thousand of years to accomplish in the Dead Sea will beprodneedby theevaporation of sea-waterinaland like Egypt in a comparatively short period. When the white crust is formed it will, to a certain extent, protect the water' from the sun, but it cannot stop the evaporation. Bong before the steamers which pass through the canal begin to be constructed with extra iron plates on their bows, as if intended for the Arctic regions, and which may possibly become necessary to protect the sides of the ship when the crust in the Bitter Lakes has become thick, and masses of salt are floating about, those same vessels will be bringing home or taking out that most rueful commodity from this great salt-pan, and be thus diminishing the accumulation. The power of production will be so great that the whole world may be supplied. In many countries salt is scarce. In Abyssinia pieces of it are used for money, India could take large quantities. - Turkey, Austria, Italy, in fact the whole of Southern Europe, are all now, by means of the canal itself, close to this great manufactory. i Ada is on one side and Africa on the other, and all require salt. Should this useful article become a nuisance in the canal, no doubt facilities would be given to those who came to remove it. Already, the same writer says, the Khddive has given,' or is about to give, a concession for tho manufacture of salt on the Bitter Bakes. How 'far tho commerce of this article will in tho future affect its accumulation is a question as yet beyond solution. The facts aro stated as far as they are known, and it is certain that whatever affects such a great public work as the Suez canal must.be of interest to all, i:;
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New Zealand Times, Volume XXX, Issue 4463, 9 July 1875, Page 3
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726THE SUEZ CANAL. New Zealand Times, Volume XXX, Issue 4463, 9 July 1875, Page 3
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