feet are in steel plates and 6,892 feet in wired cement), of piping with a diameter, as stated, of 10.83 feet.

This installation permits the distribution of force to the extent of 3,500 horsepower, under a tension of 26,000 volts, for a distance of 40 miles to factories in Moirans, Voiron, and Rives.

Grenoble will soon be lighted by electricity, the power being supplied by the Electro-Chemical Society of the Romanche, which has its works in the village of Livet (altitude 1,794 feet), 27 miles distant from this city. The valley of the Romanche was, until recent years, sparsely populated; to-day, within a distance of 12 miles, there are already installed six establishments for the making of paper, wood pulp, acetylene, aluminum, etc., and for the generation of electric force.

The stream itself is fed by the powerful glacial reservoirs of the Massifs of the Belledonne and the Pelooux-ranges of mountains (in altitude from 9,800 to 13,000 feet) on either side of the valley; in winter and summer alike, this water supply is unremitting and abundant.

With Grenoble thus lighted as it were by the melting snows, and furnished with a new motive force for turning its industrial wheels, it may well deserve its title of "the White Coal Capital.'

GRENOBLE, December 4, 1902.

C. P. H. NASON,

Consul.

THE SIMPLON RAILWAY.

Consul Richmond Pearson sends the following from Genoa: I have recently made a visit to the Simplon, in order to ascertain the character and progress of this stupendous undertaking, whose success or failure means so much for the future of Genoa.

In my report of last March,* upon the authority of an American. engineer, I stated that such serious obstacles had been encountered in the south side of the tunnel that no progress was being made, and that the location of the line would probably have to be changed.

My examination, on the spot, removed all doubts on this score. The work is progressing rapidly in the tunnel on both sides of the Alps; about 4,000 workmen are employed in the tunnel, and not less than 6,000 on the Italian section of the road between Isella, at the mouth of the tunnel, and Arona, the present terminus of the railway running north from Milan. It is now practically certain that the road will be completed within the estimated time-that is to say, by July 1, 1905-as nearly two-thirds of the tunnel was finished on

* See Commercial Relations, 1901, Vol. II.

July 1, 1902, and the worst obstacles have already been met and mastered. The greatest of the impediments was the ever-increasing heat in the tunnel, caused by the growing volume of water, which, although it starts at the summit of the mountain, 6,000 feet above the line of railway, after percolating through beds of limestone, becomes almost boiling hot and flows into the tunnel at a temperature of from 112° to 140° F., rendering not only work but life impossible without resort to artificial means of refrigeration. The engineer, by turning cold air on hot air and cold water on hot water, has reduced the temperature in the tunnel from 140° to 70° F.

The volume of water flowing out of the south end of the tunnel is over 15,000 gallons per minute and furnishes motive power sufficient not only to work the refrigerating apparatus, but to compress the air by which the drills are operated.

This tunnel, when completed, will be the largest in the worldto wit, 14 miles long, or twice the length of the Mont Cenis and 5 miles longer than the St. Gotthard. The cost of the tunnel alone will be 70,000,000 francs ($13,510,000), an average of nearly $1,000,ooo per mile.

ROUEN-AMERICAN STEAMSHIP COMMUNICATION.

In answer to the recent report from this office concerning gypsum,* there came many letters to the Rouen firm mentioned therein from parties in America wanting samples, some even ordering several tons for trial and others asking for freight rates from Rouen to Philadelphia, Baltimore, and New York, and showing every possible interest in the matter. The firm dealing in this plaster says it would be able to ship it from Rouen to Philadelphia c. i. f. at 17.50 francs ($3.38) per ton, but unhappily no ships are here to take it, and because of this the Rouen firm and American buyers are prevented from making a mutually profitable exchange. To ship the same article via Havre would cost to New York c. i. f. 24 francs ($4.63) per ton, a difference of 6.50 francs ($1.26) in favor of this porta difference great enough, in many instances, to determine between a profitable business and no business at all.

The greatest objection urged against the feasibility of vessels plying between Rouen and an American port is that such vessels would be compelled to leave the former port in ballast. true?

Is this

Nearly $39,000,000 worth of merchandise was shipped from Paris to the United States during the fiscal year ended June 30, 1901. The cheapest route for these goods would have been by fluvial

*ADVANCE SHEETS No. 1482; CONSULAR REPORTS NO. 267 (December, 1902).

transit to Rouen and thence to America, if the line spoken of had been in existence. It may not have been the quickest route, but it certainly would not have been the slowest. Still, in examining the list of this $39,000,000 worth of merchandise, I do not find a single perishable article that would have necessitated quick transit. There are jewels and art works and articles de Paris that would have been hardly preceptible as a cargo; but on the other hand there were shipped hides, skins, and leather to the amount of $3,375,541; furniture and household goods, $1,292,304; upholstery and wall paper, $1,021, 117; dress goods, $2,937,711; cotton goods, $374,671; hardware (machines), $546,504; linen goods, $506,952; platinum, $351,623; preserved fruits and vegetables, $272,881; etc.-quite enough, it seems, to furnish cargo for a regular line between Rouen and America. Why should these goods be transported from Paris. to the coast in railway cars and put into vessels at Havre, or sent by way of Liverpool and other English ports to be transferred again into ocean-going vessels? For England, Norway, Sweden, Russia, and other countries, Rouen is the seaport of France; why should it not be so for the United States? It is within thirty-six hours by water of the capital, which has a market of more than 2,500,000 consumers, and it has a harbor lined on both sides by two great railway systems. The same vessel can unload into lighters or barges on the river side for canal delivery as far south as Nice and even to Belgium and Germany, and at the same time from the other side into railway cars for the interior, or upon the quay for Rouen consumption.

As far as cargoes from America to Rouen are concerned, plenty of them could be found. The principal industry of this district is cotton-goods manufacturing. The Rouenaise textiles are famous all over. It would appear strange if the raw material for this industry could not be brought direct from the field of production. Rouen. brokers, spinners, and manufacturers would of course give their hearty support to a movement in this direction, for all cotton now consumed here, with the exception of a little Indian cotton that comes here by way of London, is brought from Havre. Apropos of this, I am told by a Rouen cotton broker that if the cotton dealers in the United States could offer the same conditions of sale to Rouen as to Havre buyers, there would be a market here for 150,000 bales annually.

The time may be distant, or it may not, when American coal will come into northern France, and when it does no port will offer advantages superior to those of Rouen for its entry. Here, the salt and fresh waters mingle, and the latter affords the cheapest transit possible all over France. Some weeks ago, an important American export- house wrote to this office saying that, as soon as conditions

admitted getting coal to the seaboard, it wished to see what could be done toward entering coal here.

Should the project mentioned prove of interest, I will, if desired, furnish details concerning the advantages possessed by Rouen, the capacity of the port, depth of water, interior canal facilities, freight rates by rail and water, connection with Paris, brokerage and pilot fees, etc.

ROUEN, January 7, 1903.

THORNWELL HAYNES,

Consul.

SAND BRICKS IN FRANCE.*

The manufacture of bricks from mortar-that is to say, sand and lime-was first practiced at least half a century ago. In 1900, Messrs. Ch. Gerard & Meurer took out a patent which is still in force, and the inventors are quite willing to sell manufacturing rights for other countries.

The materials used are sand, lime, clay, and alkalies. The sand must be clean, "bite" well (i. e., must crackle when pressed between the fingers), and be neither too fine nor too coarse. The lime should be freshly made. It is used just as it leaves the kiln. For the clay, a loam answers better than a pure clay. The alkalies used are caustic potash or soda, or alkaline salts, such as carbonates, bicarbonates, silicates, sulphates, or chlorides.

The lime should be from 6 to 10 per cent, by weight, in proportion to the sand; and the clay 30 to 100 per cent, by weight, in proportion to the lime.

The sand is dried at a temperature of about boiling point. The lime is reduced to a fine powder, and both it and the sand are automatically weighed, to obtain the exact proportions, and then taken in elevators to a mixing machine, where they are mingled with hot water, sprayed in fine jets under strong pressure. When thoroughly mixed, the compound is removed to a "silo," where it remains for some time. The clay is dried and powdered in a separate machine, and the proper proportions of (a) the lime and sand and (b) the clay are automatically admitted into a small mixing machine, where they are again mixed with hot water in fine spray. In a few minutes, the mixture is ready to be molded into bricks. The pressure applied is considerable, as upon this depends the strength of the brick. A press makes five bricks at a time, and the process takes nine seconds-that is to say, it turns out 2,000 bricks per hour.

* Report made in answer to inquiries by a resident of Michigan, to whom ADVANCE SHEETS have

been sent.