Chai*. VIII.

II KIT AIX.

557

being equal to high water-mark neap tides. The spring tides averaging about 18 feet6 inches; there is a rise of 7 feet 9 inches by one lock, and the canal is then a dead level.

Anchohne River Xavigation begins at Terrain* Sluice, on the Humber, ami terminates atBishop Hriggs ; the works were much improved in 1801, under the superintendence ofMr. Rennie. The canal from Caistor falls into the line about 5[ miles above Bishop Briggs.

Andover Canal commences near that town, and enters the tide-way of SouthamptonWater at Redbridge.

Arun River Xavigation .— 'Hie river Arun rises at a place called Ilaslemere, at anelevation of 920 feet above the level of the sea at low water ; the navigation commences atBillinghurst, and is suited for vessels drawing 3 feet water.

Ashby-de-la-Zouch Canal commences near Nuneaton, in Warwickshire , and terminatesin the parish from whence it takes its name; it is level throughout, the whole line wascompleted in 1 805. Various railroads are made to communicate with it.

Ashton-under-Lyne Canal commences near Manchester, and proceeds to Clayton, thenceto Fairfield, a distance of 3|| miles, with a rise of 162 feet 6 inches, by eighteen locks.From Fairfield for a distance of c 2\ miles it is perfectly level. At the aqueduct of Ducken-field is a branch to the Huddersfield canal, and another c 2\ miles in length to Waterhouses,which crosses the river Medlock by an aqueduct, having previously gone through a con-siderable length of tunnel. The branch from the aqueduct to Holmwood is 1^ miles inlength, and by means of eight locks rises 83 feet. A collateral branch proceeds from theIlollenwood branch, about a mile in length, to Fairbottom Colliery. Several short canalsunite with these.

From this canal Manchester derives considerable advantage; it unites that town withAshton-under-Lyne ; by means of Huddersfield canal and other branches, it connects theGerman Ocean with the Irish Sea , and by the Rochdale canal it unites with the Mersey.

Avon River rises near Devizes , and falls into the sea at the Bay of Christchurch ; it isnavigable to Salisbury; in the year 1771, the works were much injured by a flood, andwere repaired by Air. Brindley .

Avon River rises near Warwick, and becomes navigable at Stratford-upon-Avon , fromwhence it flows 43 miles 3 furlongs to Tewkesbury, and then into the river Severn , bene-fiting in its course the towns of Stratford , Evesham, and Pershore.

Avon and I'rome Rivers. — The Avon from the Ilanhnm Mills to the Severn , at King’sRoad, is navigable for a distance of 15.*, miles ; a part of its course was through the middleof the city of Bristol, and this has been converted into a floating dock and harbour, bycutting a new channel for the navigation 2 miles in length.

The Frome river rises near Wiekwar, in Gloucestershire , and falls into the floating dockat Bristol.

The Avon is subject to high and rapid tides, occasionally rising as much as 50 feet.Smeaton proposed great improvements in the harbour of Bristol, but they were not carriedinto effect until after the passing of the act of the 48 George 3., when William Jessop was appointed engineer. A part of the Avon has been rendered navigable to Bath ; thedistance from Ilanham Mills to that city being 11 miles, with a fall of 30 feet, by six locks.

Barnsley Canal commences from the river Calder ^ of a mile below the bridge atWakefield ; it rises in the distance of 2| miles a height of 117 feet by means of fifteen locks.There is a reservoir 40 feet in depth, and in area 127 acres, to supply this canal; nearBurton it crosses the Dearne by an aqueduct of five arches of stone, SO feet span each ;at a distance of 10 miles from its commencement, it unites with the Dearne and Dovecanal. From Barugh Mill to Barnby Basin, where the canal terminates, there is a rise of40 feet by five locks; its engineer was Air. William Jessop .

Basingstoke Canal has its commencement on the river Way, 3 miles from where it uniteswith the Thames : at Ash it enters the county of Southampton; in this distance of 15miles it rises 195 feet by means of twenty-nine locks. Throughout this length the canalis 36 feet wide, and 4£ feet deep, the locks admitting vessels 72 feet long and 13 feet wide,which carry 50 tons.

By means of an aqueduct about a mile from Winchester, the canal crosses a valley 4 of amile in width. At Grewell Hill it passes by a tunnel through the chalk for more thanmile, and terminates at Basingstoke; the last 22 miles its width is 38 feet, and its depth5 feet 6 inches. At Aldershot is a reservoir, which with the river Lodden supplies a partof the canal.

Baybridge Canal commences at West Grinstead, and terminates at the place from whenceit takes its name, in the connty of Sussex.

Beverley Beck commences from the river Hull, and extends to Beverley .

Birmingham Canal was originally planned and executed by James Brindley ; the first actwas obtained in the year 1766, and under it the canal was completed, which commences inthe river Trent, at Wilden Ferry in Derbyshire, passes through the Potteries , and throughCheshire to the river Mersey at Runcorn . In the same year another act was passed, tobranch off* a canal from Hey wood near Stafford, and proceed by Wolverhampton to the