The corporate authorities of the city of Georgetown have, however, during the past summer caused the bar of the Virginia channel to be dredged to a depth of thirteen feet at mean low tide, and to a width of about eighty feet. Some thirty-three thousand cubic yards of mud were removed at a cost of less than ten thousand dollars.

In my last annual report attention was called to the great importance and necessity of taking immediate action in executing some plan of permanent improvement. As no appropriation has been made for the work, no steps have been taken towards prosecuting it during the present working season. Estimates are submitted for constructing the different sections, the sum total being required for its completion; the entire amount can be profitably expended during the present fiscal year.

BRIDGES.

Benning's Bridge. This structure crosses the Anacostia or Eastern Branch, and is also known as the Upper Bridge. The flooring in particular, owing to the very great amount of travel passing over it, is very much worn along its entire length, and should be replaced by a new one. Navy Yard Bridge.-A number of the beams are decayed, and the side-rails are old and unsafe. The draw, although not much used, is so constructed as to make travel over it at least very disagreeable, if not dangerous. It should be altered so as to conform to the level of the roadway of the bridge. The whole superstructure needs a thorough overhauling.

In reply to a resolution of the Senate of the United States, passed June 20, 1868, which directed me "to make a survey of the lower bridge, known as the Navy Yard Bridge, across the Anacostia, and report a plan for a permanent structure across the same, at or near the present site, capable of sustaining a railway track and cars, with a footway on each side of the carriage track, with an estimate of the cost of the same," a report and plans were prepared and submitted which furnished the required information.

The importance of a permanent and substantial bridge at or near the point indicated has been sufficiently well established; it is to be hoped that the necessary action will be taken to accomplish an object which is so much desired, and which will tend so much towards advancing the interests of the capital. Your attention is respectfully called to a consideration of the plans and the report accompanying them.

Potomac or Long Bridge.-The remarks made in my last annual report in regard to this bridge remain still in force, and prove the necessity of erecting a more substantial, suitable, and architectural structure. It is to be regretted that the river approaches to the city should present such unseemly appearances. As already stated, the Long Bridge has been for so many years the means of intercourse between the city and the opposite shore, that it would be very difficult to divert attention from the old well-beaten track. Such being the case, it is very desirable to replace the present one by another which would prove not only more ornamental and useful, but also be so planned as to remove some very serious obstructions created by the exist ing one, and which have a tendency to permanently injure the channels of the river. The present bridge constantly needs repairs; it is so old, and its timbers so badly decayed, that unremitting attention is required to insure safety to travelers. The old north draw has been replaced by an entirely new and lighter one, and by one which can be worked with

great ease; the other, near the south end of the structure, is heavy, badly constructed, expensive to keep in order, and difficult to move; at times it is a great annoyance to those compelled to pass over it by the detentions experienced when undergoing frequently needed repairs. It is now held together more by extra bracing, straining rods, and other appliances, than by the timbers employed in the original plan of construction; a new one of more modern design is greatly needed.

The cribs that support the long spans, near the Virginia shore, should all be rebraced and replanked. An entirely new floor will have to be laid during the next year. It is recommended that some necessary statutes be enacted to prevent the frequent occurrence of accidents to the draws by vessels running against the bridge while passing through them; these, in many cases, arise from carelessness in steering, and in others from too many vessels being towed through the channel at the same time. The damage to the channels of the river by this bridge have already been expatiated upon in several previous reports, and should receive serious attention. The railroad bridge, running parallel to and south of it, is also a serious cause of injury. Several plans for new and more architectural bridges have been prepared by order of Congress, but no subsequent action has been taken towards constructing them.

Aqueduct Bridge. This bridge, leased by the Alexandria Canal Company, has been opened, in addition to canal purposes, for ordinary travel since the date of my last report. By the act relating to the Alexandria canal, approved July 27, 1868, it was enacted, "that as soon as the Chief Engineer of the Army shall certify to the Secretary of War that the said bridge is completed, the company may demand and receive certain specified tolls." In compliance with this law, directions were given me to inspect and report upon its completion, which was accordingly done, and the bridge thrown open to travel.

Chain Bridge. This bridge over the Potomac, known also as the Little Falls Bridge, and situated about three miles above Georgetown, has been greatly improved during the last fiscal year. It had previously been in a very dilapidated and unsafe condition, the immense amount of army transportation passing over it during the continuance of the war having rendered it almost impassable. Very slight, if any, repairs had been attempted for several years. The two spans at the southern termination of the bridge had to be entirely rebuilt, and each of the others, eight in number, had to be repaired to a greater or less extent. The larger portion of the flooring had also to be renewed. A large amount of work remains still to be done to make the structure as it should be; many sections of the upper and lower chords should be replaced, as the timber is fast decaying away, and many slighter repairs should be attended to as soon as possible. It was found necessary for several weeks to close the Chain Bridge against all travel. The great inconvenience, as set forth in several petitions, to which farmers and others were placed by being compelled to cross the Aqueduct Bridge during that time, and the many complaints that were made by the citizens of Georgetown at the increased cost of marketing and other household wants in consequence of the demand for tolls over it, would seem to argue the very great necessity of preserving the former structure in perfect repair for their accommodation. Estimates are herewith submitted upon which to base the appropriations required to execute the different repairs of the several bridges enumerated; the necessity is fully exhibited by the accompanying table, which furnishes

the average amount of travel passing over them, per day and year, to and from the District of Columbia:

In making suggestions respecting the preservation and improvement of the different public squares and reservations throughout the city, and in again calling attention to the establishment of a national park among its environs, it would scarcely seem necessary to do more than refer to those already made in my last two annual reports. The subjects have been thoroughly discussed, and no additional recommendations can be made. Their important relation to the hygiene of the capital, the improved appearance offered to the streets and avenues, and the greatly enhanced value to property, not to dwell upon the means thereby furnished by the cultivation of a taste for the beautiful, are strong and sufficient arguments to continue the bestowal upon them of the care and expense required for their adornment. Owing to the very limited appropriations for the purpose, but little more has been done during the fiscal year than to endeavor to keep them in passable order. Lincoln Square has undergone greater improvement during the year than any other. It has been filled up and graded, and several hundred choice trees selected and planted. As soon as the necessary means are furnished it will be laid out in beds and walks, according to the design prepared for their arrangement. It is recommended that a suitable monument be erected within the inclosure.

The Capitol grounds have changed but very little. A considerable number of ordinary trees have been cut down to prevent the crowding and consequent injury of more valuable and beautiful species. Owing to the smallness of the appropriation the extension of these grounds progresses but slowly.

The culvert through the Botanical Garden has been completed, and is found fully capable of carrying off the immense quantity of water which is at times brought down by Tiber Creek. A new walk is being paved with the Seneca stone, and when completed will present a beautiful appearance in connection with the new conservatory now being constructed. The intermediate reservations between the Botanical Garden and the Smithsonian grounds have remained very much in the same condition as when last reported upon.

The Smithsonian grounds require a great deal of attention, and many additional improvements are needed to make the arrangements complete and in accordance with the original design. It is to be hoped that no further cause of delay may arise from the want of funds, and that the work may progress rapidly towards completion.

The grounds attached to the Agricultural Department are undergoing rapid alterations, and are being handsomely arranged with walks and drives in connection with ornamental plats for shrubs, plants, and trees.

The monument reservation still remains unchanged in its appearance. It is susceptible of being transformed into a place of very great adornment, particularly as it is located in such close proximity to the banks of the Potomac. The proposed plan for the laying out of the grounds immediately south of the White House, which includes the opening of a new avenue that will connect the streets passing by the Treasury building and the War and Navy departments, is being executed to the very utmost limit that the appropriation for the work will admit. It is very much to be regretted that an improvement which adds so much beauty to the surroundings of the building occupied by the chief executive officer of the nation, and one which will prove of so great convenience, can only be partially completed for the present. The consideration of the various plans submitted in my last reports for the embellishment and adornment of the different reservations known as the "Mall,” with a view of uniting them in one grand drive extending from the Executive Mansion to the Capitol, is again respectfully asked.

The several squares-Lafayette, Franklin, Judiciary, and Scott-have been kept in as good state of preservation as the very limited means would permit. A new circle has been inclosed at the intersection of Massachusetts, Connecticut, and New Hampshire avenues. An additional square, corresponding with Scott square, has also been laid out near the junction of Connecticut avenue and K street. Several triangular reservations, at the crossings of Pennsylvania avenue by some of the lateral streets, were inclosed as soon as the government had ceased to occupy them with buildings for office purposes. Many of these have already been planted with trees while others still remain unimproved.

The great drought of the past summer has not only killed many of the trees and plants, but has interfered very materially with any other embellishment of the different grounds. The necessity for furnishing the latter with a sufficient supply of water by means of fountains, in order to preserve the vegetation, became very painfully apparent. It is earnestly urged that the attention of Congress be again called to the subject of a grand national park for the capital. Every important city in the country has acknowledged the necessity and wisdom of encouraging public places of resort for the purposes of pleasure and recreation; and individuals have lavished fortunes in the embellishment of private domains which are scarcely to be excelled by those endowed by the most munificent municipalities.

AVENUES AND STREETS.

To avoid repetition, reference must be again made to my last annual reports. As no appropriations were made by Congress for even the repair of avenues, to be expended during the last fiscal year, or for use during the present one, it is apparent that but little can be written upon the amount of work accomplished. The several recommendations in regard to their improvement and adornment that have been already offered are again presented for consideration. Sufficient provision should at least be made to pay the proportional part of the expense of any improvements which have actually been, or are proposed to be, made by the city authorities, and which pass by or through any of the public buildings and grounds. From the very nature of the contract

between the controlling powers, entered into at the time the capital was located on the banks of the Potomac, the government is bound to take some action. There are several very important suggestions in reference to them which should receive early attention. It is to be regretted that so many opposing interests interfere and prevent any well digested plan of operations. The repairing of that main thoroughfare through the capital, known as Pennsylvania avenue, has become an absolute necessity. For two entire fiscal years, the last and the one preceding, Congress has neglected to appropriate any money for attending to the many and much needed repairs along it, or for the purpose of simply keeping it in a cleanly and healthy condition. Two men, with a horse and cart, is the entire force engaged in removing the filth which accumulates over a distance of nearly three miles. A resolution passed the Senate of the United States, but which failed to be acted upon in the House of Representatives, appointing a special commission to decide upon the relative merits of the several plans for different pavements, and to select and lay one upon the avenue. The bill was very carefully drawn and considered, and should meet with general approval.

A special committee was also appointed to consider a change in the grades of the streets adjoining the Treasury Department; a report is being prepared upon the subject. Immediate attention should also be given to the regrading of the several streets encompassing the Patent Office building and the Post Office Department. There are still several very important avenues to be opened and graded; in their present condition many of them very seriously interfere with the improvements already made upon the streets. Those in particular which radiate from the Capitol building should receive prompt legislation. All the approaches to this magnificent structure should be placed in the most complete order; several of those leading from a northerly direction are quite impassable at the present time. The removal of the depot of the Baltimore and Ohio railroad from its present site will no doubt be again agitated. As two or three additional roads are in course of construction, or being favorably considered, the different companies may find it to their interests to unite upon some one central position for a depot to accommodate the travel and business of all of them.

It is particularly gratifying that the preliminary steps have been taken by the respective corporate authorities of Washington and Georgetown to unite the two cities by connecting West and P streets by a bridge over Rock Creek. This is a much needed structure, and will be one of great convenience to the public. Estimates are submitted for opening several of the avenues.

WASHINGTON CANAL-TIBER CREEK.

Much has been said and a great deal written on the subject of this great nuisance. It is gratifying to know that the municipal authorities have appointed a select committee to report some plan for its abatement, and it is to be hoped that early action will be taken in the matter. As the canal lies adjacent to, or passes through a large portion of the public grounds, it is but right and proper that Congress should aid by munificent appropriations any beneficial improvements that may be determined upon by those competent and authorized to act. It is not only a question to be decided in a commercial point of view, but also in its sanitary relations to the city. Many committees have been selected to report upon the subt, and many individual views have been expressed; the opinior › be unanimous that the canal should not