book 0f tüis. cut muft be; hollowed through the red granite, it is
— .— evident, that it will be attended with as many, if not more,'
difficulties, than were experienced in the former attempt. It
muft by no means, however, be condemned as impracticable.
The canal of the duke of Bridgewater, that of. Languedoc,
and the road through the mountain Gemmi in Switzerland,
prove that fcarcely any thing is impoffible to human in-
dnftry.
The chief queftion, in this refpedt, feems to be, whether
the enormous expence attending the execution o f the work
would be compenfated by the advantages refulting from its
completion. And here, i f we merely take into confideration
the navigation from the Wenner to Gotheborg, we may venture
to decide in the negative. But i f we prefume, that at
any future period the communication ffiould be formed from
the Gulf o f Bothnia to the Wenner, as in that cafe the cataracts
o f Trolbætta would be the only remaining interruption
to the inland navigation from the eaftern to the weftern coaft
o f Sweden, the accomplifhment o f this canal could hot furely
be obtained at too dear a rate.
His prefent majefty, who, foon after his aceeffion, vifited
thefe works atTrolhætta, wifely ordered them for the prefent
to be fufpended ; but that the fiuices o f Guftavus and Aker
fhould- be finiihed without delay. Meanwhile, in order to
facilitate the tranfport.of the merchandize from the diftriits
bordering upon the Wenner to Gotheborg, a wooden road'
has been conftructed on the fide o f the river, from the beginning
to the end o f the cataracts. It is fupported upon
pofts over the rocks, which, from their irregularity and!
roughnefs, would have been almoft impaffable for horfes.
About a mile below the cataraCts the courfe of the Gotha
is again interrupted by a fall,, called. Akerftræm : there a
ç canal
canal has been made through a rock which projected into
the river ; the length of it is 182 feet, including the fluice ;
depth 26 ; and breadth 36. This cut was begun in 1774;
it was far advancedAvhen 1 faw it,; and) it was expected,
would be opened in 1781 .
From Akerftrcem the river is clear to Gotheborg, excepting
at Edit, where its paffage is flopped by a bed o f rocks;
riling in the midft o f the ftream. On one fide o f thefe rodcs
another cut has been made, '600 feet in length, 2:0 in depth,
but only .1.8 in breadth. The work is- ill executed j and,
when I was there, was in bad order. A petition bad been
prefented to the king, that it might be repaired and improved
to the fame: breadth as Aker-fluice ; and there was no doubt
o f its being effected.
The iron, and other merchandize,is now tranfported acrofs
the lake to Wenneriborg ; and from thence, through the
Carlfgraf canal,and down the riverGotha toTrolhaetta. Upon
coming to the cataraCts, the goods are unloaded, and carried
over the wooden road about two miles to the end'of the falls.
There they are again embarked, and .palling through the
Akerftrsem and Edit Unices, upon afuppofition that they ;are
by this time completed, arrive without further impediment
at Gotheborg.. In return, fait, fpices,corn,tea, and other con -
modifies of interior confumption, are fent up by the fame
channel into the provinces about the. Wenner.
C I f A Pi