up-stream face is pitched at a less abrupt angle in order to secure greater stability. The height of crest or roadway above the zero mark of the long-established water-gage is 25 meters, and the high-water level as at present designed is 22 meters above the same zero. When full, the reservoir will hold 1,165,000,000 cubic meters of water, and its set-back will reach 143 miles above the dam. The total cost of construction as given by the best English authorities was £2,400,000, and the amount of work accomplished is divided as follows: Excavation, 775,000 cubic meters; masonry, 496,000 cubic meters; brickwork, 7,000 cubic meters; ashlar, 41,400 cubic meters; sluice-gates, 2,240 square meters; lock-gates, 530 square meters. At these figures, the initial rate of waterstorage is about 1 cent for each cubic foot, but as this must diminish in a direct but irregular ratio from year to year, it will eventually disappear altogether when balanced against the accruing benefits. Technically, the dam is described as "insubmergible"-that is to say, it is not intended that the water shall at any time flow over its lip or crest. The reason for this is, that the Nile carries in suspension such enormous quantities of silt that if the flow is entirely checked at any point the suspended matter settles to the bottom. In the case of a reservoir, no matter how large, it is evident that in a few years it would be filled up, and its purpose for irrigation would be defeated. This dam, therefore, is provided with an elaborate system of sluice-gates, 65 of them being but 3 meters above the zero mark; then come 75 at 8 meters, 18 at 12 meters, and 22 at 16 meters above zero. These different groupings of the sluice-ways can be seen in part in the accompanying illustration, and some idea can be formed of the way in which the discharge of the river can be regulated through these great openings, each of which is fitted with its own hand-operated machinery for the effective opening and closing of its gates. During the period of high water that is beginning about the middle of July, when the percentage of solid matter in suspension is at its highest, the river will be permitted to flow through the sluices with as little hindrance as possible, bearing its rich alluvial tribute to be deposited in the lower valley. When all the sluices are open there will be little perceptible difference in the appearance of the river channel a short distance above and below the dam from what has always existed. As the flood subsides, usually some time in November, the water becomes comparatively clear, and the gates will then be closed. Under average conditions the reservoir should be at its full level in January, and this can be maintained until May, when the need of reserve water begins to be felt in the agricultural regions. From this time until the next flood is due in July the gates will be open, regulating the quantity of water in the lower Nile according to the special climatic conditions of the season. At the western end of the great dam is a navigating channel with locks, each 75 meters long and 9 meters wide, affording ample accommodation for any river craft likely to be in use upon the Nile. The lock-gates were designed by F. B. M. Stoney, who is also the designer and patentee of the sluice-gates used in the dam. The heavier lock-gates are worked by hydraulic power. The present high-water line of the reservoir is as stated above; but the structure was intentionally designed to sustain a pressure resulting from a higher level, 28 meters above the zero mark being contemplated. This will nearly or quite double the capacity of the reservoir, and as the expense of raising the dam will be comparatively small (£250,000), it may be effected before many years. Curious and interesting problems are involved in this initial step toward harnessing the great river of the Pharaohs. Similar dams or weirs are in contemplation at the different cataracts, at the sources of the river, and near certain of the natural depressions in the desert lands adjoining. The great lakes Victoria and Albert Nyanza, Lake Tana, and Lake No will all be utilized. Of these lakes, Victoria and Tana àre held back by natural dikes of rock, which will only need to be tunneled or cut to make it possible to draw off the enormous accumulations of water as they may be needed. Lake Albert will need to have its level raised by damming its natural outlet; this can be done, however, without asking any one's permission, as the whole region is in British territory and so nearly barren of inhabitants that possible claims for damages may be ignored. These plans, if carried out, would furnish about 18,000,000,000 cubic meters of water per annum. The additional water-supply is not the only question involved, for there are extensive swamps along the White Nile, which in years of extremely low water pollute the whole river, with serious and often fatal results to animal life. With the supply under control at its source, these swamps could be practically eliminated by preventing stagnation and checking the flow of the dreaded greenwater," which at times affects the stream even to Cairo. .. It is remarkable that this is the first comprehensive scheme that ever has been attempted for reducing a large river as far as possible to the service of man. Some European rivers have been in a measure harnessed and reduced to service; but the Nile is unique in many of its surroundings and affords opportunities for ingenuity in the matter of engineering that can hardly be found in any other stream. The greater rivers of the world, as, for instance, the Mississippi and the Amazon, are far beyond the reach of mortal power in its present development, and indeed their courses for the most part lie through FARMERS' NATIONAL CONGRESS. The twenty-second annual meeting of the Farmers' National Congress was called to order by the president, the Hon. George L. Flanders, of New York, in Macon, Ga., Oct. 7, 1902. The congress was welcomed to Georgia by Gov. Allen D. Candler, who in the course of his address said: "Most of the men that have shaped the destinies of this republic since it was born were farmers and sons of farmers. It is almost impossible to grow a man on a brick pavement. We propose that Georgia shall be the best place on earth for a good negro, and the worst place for a bad negro." The congress was welcomed to Macon by the Hon. George A. Smith, president of the Macon Chamber of Commerce. He called attention to the fact that the largest residence in the city was built with the proceeds of one year's peach-crop of the owner. Another mansion was built from one season's hay-cutting. Cotton is not the only crop grown in Georgia. Mr. Smith called attention to the Torrens system of registering the title to lands, and strongly recommended it. He reminded his hearers that Henry Ward Beecher had called Macon the most beautiful city in America." The addresses of welcome were responded to on the part of the congress by its first vice-president, the Hon. Harvie Jordan, of Georgia, president of the Cotton Growers' Association of America. In speaking of the meeting just opened, he F a country that makes it impossible for any great engineering operations to be undertaken, even if they were desirable. Some of the smaller rivers in the arid regions of our own Western States are already largely subjected to a system of management that has already wrought wonderful improvements in the great deserts of the West, but the historic Nile affords thus far the most conspicuous instance of a great river so placed by nature that its productive powers can be readily controlled for the benefit of mankind. The construction of the dam at Assouan with a view to future enlargement has a curious side issue. The original plans were considered by an international commission, and no sooner was it known among archeologists that the first cataract was chosen as the site for a dam than it became evident to those interested that the structures on the island of Philæe would be submerged. This island, with its stately temples and colonnades, is among the most famous localities in a land rich in the treasures of antiquity, and archeologists all over the world raised such an outery against the desecration that the engineer in charge, being a wise man, announced that the dam should not be built so high as was at first intended. This was something of a subterfuge, for these wonderful and majestic ruins will necessarily be to some extent submerged except when the river is flowing in its natural channel-that is to say, when the sluice-gates are all open. Unfortunately, this period of the year corresponds in a general way with the season least attractive to Egyptian tourists, so that some of the finest specimens of Egyptian architecture will be less accessible than heretofore to modern observers. The engineers have taken the precaution to strengthen and reenforce the ancient foundations of the temples, so that it is thought no harm will actually result from their periodical submergence. said: "It will put into motion a sentiment along the lines of national cooperation by the farmers of the country, which will be of untold profit and benefit to the great industry of which the Farmers' National Congress has become the leading representative organization. The days of individual action are rapidly being relegated to the past, while the cultivation of a closer relationship along the lines of cooperative action is being fast inculcated in the minds of our people all over this country. The unprecedented prosperity of the United States is due in largest measure to the results of the labor of our farmers. We are largely feeding and clothing the nations of the civilized world, and it is due to the vast exports of our cotton, meats, and cereals that the United States has within recent years become the creditor nation of the world." In his annual address, President Flanders said: "The education that has been going on in the interest of the farmers during the past thirty years, at the State agricultural colleges, etc., has produced wonderful results, but all or nearly all are upon one side of the two-sided question, viz., upon the side of production, without touching the question of distribution or the question of the relation of the farmer to the governments under which he lives and by virtue of which he is protected. We are living in an age of combination; an age of corporations and corporate interests united for purposes which to them seem proper and just and FARMERS' NATIONAL CONGRESS. right; an age in which capital, generally speaking, More than 800 delegates were present, from 31 A Committee on Resolutions of one from each State, selected by the delegates from each State, was announced, and organized by electing Hon. Benjamin F. Clayton, of Iowa, chairman, and Prof. W. F. Massey, of North Carolina Agricultural College and Experiment Station, secretary. New Prof. T. J. Woofter, of Georgia, read a paper on He said: "Let us not An Interoceanic Canal. waste too much time quibbling over choice of routes, but push to successful completion one or the other. We need the canal. It is to be our good right hand. Agriculture and manufacture stimulate each other. Agriculture must furnish much raw material; then, as more and more people engage in manufacturing, greater demands are made on agriculture to feed them. Roundly put, then, stimulation in production of raw materials and increase in manufacturing must inevitably follow lessening cost of transportation and extending the limits of the markets. England and the Middle Atlantic States, which constitute the most important manufacturing section of the country, have to ship to Europe to contest the home markets of the Old World, or to ship long distances to the Orient or to our Pacific regions by way of Cape Horn, Cape of Good Hope, and the Isthmus of Suez. These manufacturing regions must get some of their raw materials and food supplies from the States on the Pacific Ocean, and in turn these Pacific people desire the manufactured articles of New England. The water distance from New York to San Francisco is 15,000 miles; by an isthmian canal it would be 5,000 miles. The canal will give us a decided advantage over the other nations of the world in the competitive international struggle which is certain to take place to secure the industries of the great Pacific Ocean." At the morning session, Oct. 8, a paper on Reciprocity-F How may it affect Agricultural Interests? was read by the Hon. John K. Campbell, of Michigan. Mr. Campbell said he did not consider it just "to frame a bill that will admit the raw material free to benefit the manufacturer, and then shut the door on the manufactured product by a high tariff that enables the home manufacturer to charge his own price, imposing on the farmer the burden of the tax that benefits only the manufacturer." Referring to the beet-sugar industry, he said he favored a diversified system of agriculture, and that "every protection should be extended to the farmer that will aid him in developing the cultivation of the sugar-beet, or any other product that the farmer, under proper protection, can develop." At the afternoon session a paper on Forestry and the Preservation of Forests was read by George M. Whitaker, editor of the New England Farmer. He declared that not cotton nor corn, but "the tree is king!" He deplored the waste "The supply of in cutting and in using timber, and emphasized the danger of a timber famine. oak and hickory in the Northern and Eastern States has been so nearly exhausted as to create a heavy demand for timber lands in Tennessee, Arkansas, and Mississippi. The papers report that all the wagon-manufacturers of the North and East, as well as wood-working companies of all kinds, have their agents in these States for the purpose of buying up every available acre of timber land. This is emphatically a farmer's quesA tree is a product of the soil. The nation. tional Department of Agriculture is undertaking to assist the farmer in applying better methods, by which the forest on his wood-lot will be improved without appreciably increasing the cost of harvesting the forest crop.' At the opening of the morning session, Oct. 9, Prof. Louis B. Magid, of Georgia, had a few minutes in which to present the claims of silkgrowing in the United States. This he did so ably that a strong sentiment manifested itself in the congress favorable to the action of the national Department of Agriculture to determine the feasibility of silk-growing in this country. Prof. Magid's paper was followed by one in favor of National Irrigation, by C. M. Heintz, of California. This paper presented some striking figures, including the following: "By the building of irrigation systems, great wealth is actually created. Take the Colorado delta, for an example. Here is a body of about 900,000 acres of land arid and worthless. The Colorado river is of sufficient size, it is estimated, to reclaim 8,000,000 acres. This land was worthless without the water, and the water was worthless without the land. When they are brought together, there are 900,000 acres of land that will be worth, when fully reclaimed, an average of $100 an acre, or a total of $90,000,000. National expansion should be confined to building up our home country first. There is no sense in subduing the jungles of the Philippine Islands until we have first reclaimed the arid wastes of America." The opposing view of National Irrigation was presented in a paper by Gilbert M. Tucker, editor of the Country Gentleman. He called attention to the fact that "the vast development of our national contributions to the sustenance of the world has no necessary relation to the welfare of the men that raise the crops." He pointed out that what was wise when the nation was younger might be unjust and foolish when it had attained a certain development. Speaking specifically of the effects of national irrigation, especially as it would bear upon agriculture, he said: "Every district brought from aridity into cultivation, by irrigation, will for a long time export a considerable surplus of foodstuffs, and thus act to a certain extent in bearing down the market price. A second channel of mischief is the absorption by the new lands of the men and women who ought to supply, and in the normal condition of things would supply, an abundance of labor, at moderate prices, for established farmers. If the Government is going into such [irrigation] business, we can point out thousands of farms east of the Mississippi where we should like to see it tried, and also tens of thousands of farms east of the Mississippi where we should like to see the Government apply the correlative of irrigation-tile drainage-at the public expense. There is no doubt whatever that the expenditure east of the ninety-eighth meridian of the millions of dollars proposed to be used west of that line, in irrigating and draining farms already in operation, would increase their product by a larger volume than will be raised west of it, for generations to come, under the irrigation scheme." At this point the children of the Georgia Industrial Home for Unfortunate Children marched upon the stage and sang patriotic songs. At the afternoon session a paper on How can we best Build up our Merchant Marine, by F. B. Thurber, of New York, was read. It favored ship subsidies. Mr. Thurber opened his paper by saying: "Great Britain is our chief competitor, and she has consistently followed the policy of sustaining new lines until sufficient commerce developed to make them self-sustaining, and then gradually reducing the subsidy. That should be our policy." He said further: "The percentage of American products carried in American ships has dwindled from 90 to 9 per cent. If we are to find a market for American products, they must be distributed by American ships. Steamship-lines work for their own countries precisely as railwaylines work for their terminal points. The original cost of building American ships is greater than is the case abroad; the wages paid to American of ficers and seamen are very much higher than those paid to the officers and seamen of competing foreign vessels, and the standard of living on our ships is far superior to the standard of living on the ships of our commercial rivals." Opposition to ship subsidies was expressed in a paper by the Hon. Oliver Wilson, master of the Illinois State Grange. He began by saying that "in treating this important proposition there is but one fair way, and that is in the interest of the mass of citizens"; and he declared that" instead of benefiting the masses, it appears that the proposition for subsidizing our merchant marine is a scheme largely to increase the wealth of the few at the expense of the many." He pointed out that the reports of the Leland and other ocean steamship-lines recently bought by American capitalists showed that they did not need Government aid to be profitable, that the high subsides of the French Government had not built up the shipping of that nation; that "the latest facts and figures go to prove that ship-building can be done in this country as cheaply as in Great Britain or anywhere else"; and that while our workmen "receive higher wages, they accomplish more in a given time, so that the factor of higher price for labor is eliminated." At the morning session, Oct. 10, a paper on Farm-Products in the Markets of the World was presented by O. P. Austin, chief of the Bureau of Statistics, Treasury Department. He showed that the American farmer is keeping pace with the world's demand for his products and will retain the market both at home and abroad. He said that "the application of scientific methods has enabled the American farmer not only to prevent the deterioration of the virgin soil which made this country the world's greatest producer, but an intelligent understanding of that soil and its capabilities, coupled with the use of new machinery and new methods, enables him to make its products of more value to him than ever before. The man who in 1867 gave up 1 bushel out of every 6 of his wheat to pay transportation from Chicago to New York, now gets the same transportation for 1 bushel out of every 16." A paper on A Bird's-Eye View of the FarmProducts of the World, by John Hyde, statistician of the national Department of Agri culture, was rendered specially interesting by the use of the stereopticon. Charts that showed at a glance the relative standing of different countries as regards the principal agricultural products showed also the commanding importance of the United States as an agricultural country, and the great importance of our agricultural exports in maintaining a favorable balance of trade. Mr. Hyde also gave incidentally a history of the production of the principal cereals. At the opening of the afternoon session a paper on The Labor Problem from the Farmer's Standpoint was read by John M. Stahl, editor of the Farmer's Call. He divided his subject into two parts, the first being the labor problem on the farm. He said that of those things the farmer needed, the hardest for him to get is intelligent, conscientious labor. Among the remedies for the scarcity of farm labor he mentioned agricultural education, beginning in the primary school in the country; better appreciation of the advantages of farm life in developing character; better treatment of farm hands; and the trolley-line to farms from the cities. In treating the second division of his subject-the labor problem in the city-he pleaded the cause of the "innocent public" which was often the chief sufferer from strikes or lockouts; opposed compulsory arbitration as impraeticable, but favored conciliation, and, that failing, voluntary arbitration; and closed with a denunciation of both the open and the subtle lawlessness that too often appeared in the conflict between labor and capital, which should be good friends. The following resolutions were adopted by the congress: 66 That we favor the policy of reciprocity when it can be used to enlarge the markets for our agricultural products, and we indorse the words of the late President McKinley that we should take from our customers such of their products as we can use without harm to our industries and labor.' "That we express our sincere regret at the present deplorable conditions of business caused by the conflict between capital and labor, and we declare ourselves strongly in favor of settling all such difficulties either by conference or arbitration. "That we express our hearty approval of the rural free mail-delivery system, and favor its further extension as rapidly as is consistent with public policy, until the rural population of the entire country receives its mail in this way. "That we urge upon Congress the need of the early passage of the bill now pending for the establishment of the Appalachian park and forest reserve. "That we favor the speedy enactment of a law by the Congress of the United States to prevent the adulteration of any article used for human food in any form; and that such laws should carry sufficient penalties to make them effective. "That we favor the discontinuance of the distribution of seeds, except of new, valuable, or rare seeds, which we recommend shall be distributed under the direct supervision of the Department of Agriculture at Washington. "That we favor and urge on Congress an increase in the appropriation to each State and Territory for experiments in agriculture by the sum of $15.000. "That we respectfully urge our representatives in Congress to make more liberal appropriations for the Agricultural Department, which embraces within its scope of work the largest and most useful of all the industries of the Union. "That we recognize with pleasure and gratifica tion the growing usefulness of the national Department of Agriculture, and the earnest efforts being made by the head of that department, the Hon. James Wilson, to encourage scientific and diversified farming, to gather correct statistical information regarding the annual yield and distribution of all crops, and otherwise to foster and protect the agricultural interests of the whole country. "That we condemn the use of adulterants in the manufacture of food and clothing as being detrimental and injurious to the business interests of the people; and we respectfully request the Congress of the United States to enact such laws, of uniform application in all the States of the Union, as will compel manufacturers of food and clothing to stamp or label their manufactured goods in such a way as to show the true character and exact percentage of all articles used in their manufacture, before placing their products on the markets of the country, together with proper penalties for violations of these laws. "That we commend the efforts of the national Department of Agriculture to determine the practicability of establishing silk-culture as an industry in this country. "That we ask at the hands of the Congress of the United States a wider and more general recognition of the necessity for improvement of our public highways, and that appropriations be made annually from the general funds of the national treasury to broaden the work already undertaken by the Federal Government along that line. "That we commend the efforts of the present Secretary of Agriculture to extend and increase the value and efficiency of farmers' institutes by cooperation and closer relationship in this line between the States and the national Department of Agriculture through the inauguration of farmers' institute work in a limited way in one of the present divisions of the Department of Agriculture; and we urge upon the Congress of the United States the importance of this work and the desirability of increasing the support for its main tenance, to be used by the Secretary of Agriculture according to plans that he may deem most wise. "That corresponding supervision and authority in the expenditure of Government funds appropriated to the agricultural colleges of the States should be vested in the national Department of Agriculture in the interest of real agricultural education and the accomplishment of the purposes for which such appropriations were originally made. "That the early construction of an interoceanic canal is deemed essential and imperative for meeting the objects and purposes above set forth, and we hereby earnestly petition the Congress of the United States to take immediate steps toward the opening of the interoceanic canal; and that said canal shall be built and controlled by the Government of the United States without the aid of any other nation." The congress adopted an important amendment to its constitution, offered by the Hon. William L. Ames, of Wisconsin, which reads as follows: "The membership of this congress shall consist of as many members from each State and Territory as shall be equivalent to one from each congressional district, two at large, one for each State agricultural college and experiment station, and one for each national or State society or organization created and maintained to foster any agricultural interest in the United States having headquarters in that State, proof to be produced, if required, of the standing of such organization; and as many more as to the appointing power may seem wise up to, but not exceeding, 10 from any one congressional district, to be appointed preferably by the Governors of the respective States, but if in case of pressure of other business, lack of interest, or other reason the Governors fail to make liberal appointments, a certificate of appointment by the secretary of the State Board of Agriculture or State agricultural society, or by the State vice-president of this congress, shall be sufficient credentials of appointment as delegate to the Farmers' National Congress. "And, further, it shall be the duty of such appointing power to appoint delegates recommended by any member of this congress up to the prescribed number. "All appointments shall be for the term of two years, beginning Aug. 1 of the year in which the appointment is made, regardless of where or when the annual meeting of the congress may be held; and should a delegate so appointed fail to attend the first annual meeting after his appointment, and also fail to render a valid excuse for such neglect to the power that appointed him, another may be appointed in his place the following year. Provided always, however, that any delegate who shall have been properly appointed under the constitution of the Farmers' National Congress and has attended four of its annual meetings shall be a life-member and shall be entitled to every privilege and right of any member of the congress as long as he shall comply with the required annual payment of dues and his conduct continues acceptable to the congress. "The vote of any State or Territory is not to exceed in any case the number of its congressional districts, plus 2, and 1 for each of its State agricultural institutions and State or national societies or organizations, as prescribed in the first paragraph of this amendment." The congress was lavishly entertained by Macon and Georgia. At an expense of several thousand dollars a complete display of Southern products had been gathered in large tents near the Academy of Music, where it was convenient for the delegates to the congress to inspect it. A Southern barbecue was enjoyed by more than a thousand delegates and hosts. Receptions and carriage drives were given to the ladies accompanying the delegates. At the close of the congress the Georgia Southern and Florida Railway took the delegates in a special train to Palatka, Fla.; and on their return to Macon the Macon, Dublin and Savannah Railway took them on a special train to Savannah, where they were entertained by a trip down the river to the ocean, a banquet being served on board; by a clambake, rides about the city, etc. The officers of the congress for 1903 are: President, George L. Flanders, Albany, N. Y.; first vice-president, Harvie Jordan, Monticello, Ga.; second vice-president, B. Cameron, Stagville, N. C.; treasurer, J. H. Reynolds, Adrian, Mich.; secretary, John M. Stahl, Chicago, Ill.; first assistant secretary, Edward A. Callahan, Albany, N. Y.; second assistant secretary, George M. Whitaker, Boston, Mass.; third assistant secretary, Joel M. Roberts, Waco, Neb. The executive committee is composed of Benjamin F. Clayton, Indianola, Iowa, chairman; Edward W. Wickey, Ocean Springs, Miss.; William L. Ames, Oregon, Wis.; and the president and secretary of the congress ex-officio. FEDERATION OF CHURCHES. The second annual conference of the National Federation of Churches and Christian Workers in the United States was held in Washington, D. C., |