tained the difference of the levels to be quite insignificant, so that the current of the canal, when in actual operation, could present no serious obstacle to its navigation either way. But, prior to this double survey of M. Bourdaloue, M. Ferdinand de Lesseps had recognized the excavation of a navigable canal between the Mediterranean and the Red Sea as practicable, and conceived the idea of actually executing it. Besides his own ability and energy of character, he was powerfully helped in this by the happy concurrence of extrinsic circumstances, chiefly the favor of the Egyptian Government. His father, being attached to the French consulate in Alexandria, had become personally acquainted and rather intimate with Mehemet Ali, then pacha, and M. Lesseps's influence was probably no mean cause of Ali's being recognized as Viceroy of Egypt by the Sultan, who is said to have consulted the former on the subject. This circumstance could not but strengthen the relations of intimacy between Mehemet Ali and M. Lesseps, whose son Ferdinand became the friend of Saïd, the son and heir-apparent to the viceroy. Having long and carefully studied his plan, taken soundings in both seas, tested the currents and levels, bored the ground at different points along the intended line, and thus thoroughly ascertained that no insurmountable obstacles were presented by Nature to the opening of a canal from sea to sea, he communicated his project to Saïd, who understood its feasibility, as well as its importance and beneficial results, and, professing himself a firm supporter of the enterprise, authorized M. Lesseps to organize his company. The latter travelled for that end to Europe, where his project found favor, and even in England several capitalists were ready to take a part in it. The English Government, however, on political and other grounds, not only discountenanced, but positively opposed the enterprise in all its stages, both in England and at Constantinople, through its ambassador, in order that the Sultan, in exercising his rights of sovereignty over Egypt, should refuse to sanction the acts of the viceroy in the matter. Its opposition, however, has proved unavailing so far as the ultimate result aimed at is concerned. M. de Lesseps organized his company in 1854, and obtained his first concession (or, rather, a contract was entered into by the Egyptian Government on one side, and M. de Lesseps, for himself and his company, on the other), when two engineers of the viceroy commenced and in the autumn of 1855 completed a new survey, recognizing the practicability of the project. This new survey was submitted to an international commission which was nominated by the leading powers of Europe and met at Paris, deciding that five of its members should visit Egypt and examine all the parts of the project in detail. They went, and by the end of 1855 presented their report, confirming the feasibility of the enterprise. A second concession was obtained this year by M. de Lesseps from the viceroy, though the Sultan had declined to sanction the first one previously submitted to him. As the terms, on which the two parties stand at present toward each other in regard to their respective rights and duties concerning the Suez Canal, are about the same as were reciprocally stipulated in the first two concessions just referred to, we here subjoin their principal clauses, which are as follows: 1. M. F. de Lesseps to form a company called "La Compagnie Universelle du Canal de Suez," and of which he is to be appointed the director, for the purpose of making a canal across the Isthmus of Suez, and the formation of a port at each end of the said canal. 2. The managing director always to be appointed by the Egyptian Government, and chosen, if possible, from among the largest shareholders. 3. The concession to last ninety-nine years from the opening of the canal to navigation. 4. The works to be all at the company's expense, and to whom all requisite lands for construction and maintenance, not belonging to private individuals, deem it advisable to erect fortifications, the company shall be conceded. If the Egyptian Government shall not be liable for the expense of construction. 5. The government shall receive 15 per cent. annually of the earnings of the company, without reference to interest or dividend derived from any shares they may hold, or hereafter take, in the company. 75 per cent. for the general shareholders, and 10 per The remainder of the net profits to be thus dividedcent. for the original founders of the company. 6. The tariff for ships passing through the canal (and agreed on mutually by the Egyptian Government and the company) to be always the same for ships of all nations." 7. Should the company deem it advisable to join the Nile and the Maritime Canal by a navigable channel, the land now uncultivated may be irrigated and cultivated at their expense and charge. The company to have these lands free of any charge for ten years, dating from the opening of the Maritime Canal. During the remaining eighty-nine years they will pay one-tenth of the usual land-tax; after which the whole usual tax on irrigated land in Egypt. 8. A plan to be made of all lands ceded to the company. 9. The company to be allowed to quarry stone on government lands free of charge. Also to be permitted to import any material, machinery, and supplies for the workmen, free of custom-duty. tian Government will be substituted in lieu of the 10. At the expiration of the concession the Egypcompany, and will enter into full possession of all the property and rights appertaining to the canal between the two seas. A due valuation to be made for material, etc., etc. To these, which form the basis of all the arrangements subsequently agreed upon by the parties, a most important clause was added in a later concession, dated January, 1856, providing that, of the workmen employed on the canal, "in all cases, four-fifths at least should be Egyptians." This contingent of workmen to be employed by the company, and furnished of course by the Government, amounted to no less a number than 20,000 Egyptian fellahs (agricultural laborers), their wages being fixed at one-third of the European rates for similar work; which third, however, was again onethird more than what the fellahs were paid in their own country. They were also to be pro vided with habitations, food, and medical assistance, and while in hospital receive half their pay when at work. This clause, which, while it imposed an obligation, conferred also a benefit on the company for quick dispatch in the work, and even economy, was objected to by the Sultan, and in 1859 the fellahs were withdrawn. This involved the company in no small embarrassment, as well as loss of time and money for procuring an adequate number of workmen from other countries. The Sultan refused also to confirm the clause enabling the company to sell or let any portion of their property in Egypt. canal, and its longitudinal section showing the progress of the work up to October 15, 1868, confining ourselves to the bare mention of some few of its principal features. The whole course of the canal, from the Mediterranean to the Red Sea, is one hundred miles, though the distance in a direct line would be about 70 miles. For more than 60 miles it runs through the intervening lakes Menzaleh, Ballah, Timsah, and the Bitter Lakes, embankments having been formed on each side of it during its course through the two firstnamed lakes. Its width has been fixed at 328 feet in those portions where the land-level is low. The width at the base is 246 feet, and the depth of water 26 feet. These dimensions, repre tle idea of the amount of excavation that had to be carried out in many places where it traverses elevated plateaus, which entailed cuttings of great depth, as the longitudinal section shows. The withdrawal of the fellah labor and other wrongs heaped on the company, who were at one time even ordered to leave the country, re-senting those of the canal itself, convey but Etsulted in an almost total cessation of the works for two years. But they manfully stood their ground, and, after a hard struggle, finally conquered all opposition. They have even a sufficient number of native laborers, who flock to the company for work on their own motion, induced by good wages and punctual payment. As to the losses suffered by the company on the two above-mentioned points, and others, their complaints had at last the effect that the viceroy remitted their settlement to the arbitration of the French Emperor, who in July, 1864, decided as follows: 1. That the concessions of November, 1854, and January, 1856, had the form of a contract, and were binding on both parties. 2. That, as, by the withdrawal of the fellah labor, the cost of the works would be increased, the viceroy should pay an indemnity of £1,200,000 sterling on that account. 3. That the company should cede to the viceroy all their fresh-water canals, reserving only the right of passage through them; that the viceroy should pay £400,000 representing the cost of the construction of the canals, and £240,000 as compensation for the tolls which the company thereby relinquished. 4. That the company should retain only such lands along the line of the Maritime Canal as might be necessary for the care and maintenance of the said canal. 5. That the company should cede to the viceroy their title to all lands capable of cultivation by means of irrigation from the fresh-water canals, and for which the viceroy should pay £1,200,000. The total sum awarded as indemnity to the company thus amounted to £3,360,000. But, in the face of such obstacles and discouragements as would appear capable of stopping the course of any enterprise, M. de Lesseps and his engineers have persistently fought their way and progressed in the mighty work, and finally brought it, as it is at present, to the point of its completion. To enter into details concerning the variety, magnitude, and difficulty of the works on and for the canal, and the several kinds and power of the machinery used, would occupy too much space. We lay before the reader the two cuts exhibiting the surface representation of the On the northern extremity of the canal, where it debouches on the Mediterranean, a port has been constructed, named Port Said, consisting of two breakwaters, or moles, 2,726 and 1,962 yards long respectively, embracing a triangular area of about 550 acres, a safe harbor and easy to make. They are 26 yards at the base, 6 yards at the summit, and 12 yards in height, and formed of huge blocks of concrete, measuring 12 cubic yards, and weighing 22 tons each, prepared and made on the spot, by machines, from the harbor-dredgings and one-third hydraulic lime. The moles are visible at about 12 miles' distance. A writer says: "When we observe the scale on which Port Saïd now exists, no other portion of the vast engineering works along the line of the canal appears more strongly to exemplify the talent and indomitable zeal that have succeeded in so effectual a manner in surmounting those natural obstacles which here presented themselves." Besides being a port, properly so called, Port Saïd is now also a town regularly laid out in squares and streets, containing already 10,000 inhabitants, churches, mosques, hospitals and all the adjuncts of a thriving seaport town, the Sisters of Charity being also there to minister peace to patients in the hospitals, and educate the children of this large French colony. On the north of Lake Timsah, about the middle of the whole course of the canal, "stands Ismailia (named after Ismail Pacha), a flourishing French town, full of life and activity, a real oasis in the desert. It contains a population of five thousand inhabitants, and is divided into French, Greek, and Arab quarters." It is, as it were, the headquarters of the administration of the company. At its southern extremity the canal runs into the Red Sea, where, after entering the sea, its embouchure gradually widens to about 300 yards, and the depth in this portion is to be 27 feet. Here stands Suez, which, to use the same writer's words, "no more than four or five years ago, was an insignificant Egyptian village containing 4,000 inhabitants, but exhibiting no signs of life. The absence of water, and the dearness of provisions, both of which had to be brought from Cairo and the surrounding districts, rendered it as uninviting a spot as can well be imagined. The advent of the Freshwater Canal (excavated by the Suez Canal Com against southerly gales, and against the action of the tide at high water; secondly, in dredging to the requisite depth the channel leading from the canal to the road of Suez; and thirdly, the reclamation of land. The mole which projects from the Asiatic shore is nearly completed. It has been constructed with a kind of calcareous rock, quarried on the western shore of the bay." Though not yet open to general and through navigation, the canal in its finished portion is, and has been for some time, already in operation, passengers and merchandise having been carried through it to a considerable and steadily increasing extent. To give an idea on what a scale the company is formed, what sort of enterprise it has engaged in, and its means, we subjoin the final sums of its debit and credit accounts, taken from "an abstract of the general account laid before the shareholders April 30, 1868": Total expenditures to April 30, 1868, £11,532,171. Total receipts to April, 30, 1868, £13,853,866. The Viceroy of Egypt is personally interested in the undertaking to such an extent, that he holds 177,642 shares of the original capital, which represent a payment on his part of £3,552,840. SUGAR INSECT, THE (Acarus sacchari). Professor Cameron, of Dublin, writes: "In my capacity of public analyst for the city of Dublin, I have had occasion to examine, more or less minutely, nearly 150 specimens of sugar, in quality varying from the purest white to the darkest brown. The greater number of these samples were perfectly genuine : some were of rather indifferent quality: and the rest-about 15-were so impure as to be quite unfit for use: they abounded in organic filth, and contained great numbers of disgusting insects. All the samples of very inferior sugar were of the kind known as raw; and in no instance did I detect in the refined article the slightest trace of any substance injurious to the health or repugnant to the feelings. "The insects found in sugar are beetles and Acari, or mites. The beetles, which are more familiarly known to the sugar-dealers than to the general public, may frequently be seen running nimbly along the tables in the sugar warerooms. The Acari are minute insects, and do not attract attention. There are several kinds of Acari: the cheese-mite, the insect found in partially decomposed flour, and the minute parasite, which, by burrowing beneath the skin, produces the disease termed the itch-are all different varieties of Acari. The mite found in raw sugar, termed the Acarus sacchari, or sugar-insect, is a formidablyorganized, exceedingly lively, and decidedly ugly, little animal. From its oval-shaped body stretches forth a proboscis terminating in a kind of scissors, with which it seizes upon its food. Its organs of locomotion consist of eight legs, each jointed and furnished at its extremity with a hook. In the sugar, its movements from one place to another are necessarily very slow, but, when placed on a perfectly clean and dry surface, it moves along with great rapidity. "The itch is produced by an Acarus making burrows beneath the skin, and depositing therein its eggs; and hence the insect has been named the Acarus scabiei, or scab-mite. Mange in horses, cattle, and dogs, and scab in sheep, are essentially the same disease as itch in man. Now, it is a noteworthy fact that grocers' assistants and sugar warehouse-men are peculiarly liable to a kind of itch which affects their hands and wrists, but does not extend to any other part. These persons are usually of cleanly habits, and do not belong to the classes amongst whom the ordinary itch is so prevalent; there is, therefore, but one way of accounting for their tendency to contract that disease-namely, that the Acarus sacchari, having, like its congener, Acarus scabiei, burrowing propensities, bores into their skin, and breeds there. The two kinds of Acari resemble each other very closely, but the sugar insect appears to be the larger and more formidable. So common is this pustulous disease amongst persons engaged in the handling' (i. e. mixing) of sugar, that it has been termed the 'grocer's itch,' "The number of Acari found in raw sugar is sometimes exceedingly great, and in no instance is the article quite free from either the insects or their eggs. Dr. Hassall (who was the first to notice their general occurrence in the raw sugar sold in London) found them in a living state in no fewer than 69 out of 72 samples. He did not detect them in a single specimen of refined sugar. The results of my examination of the sugar sold in Dublin coincided pretty closely with Dr. Hassall's experience. In the refined sorts, I found nothing but crystallizable and non-crystallizable sugar, and a little saline matter; in the raw kinds, organic and mineral filth-often in great abundance. In one of the samples examined, very inferior sugar, extremely damp, containing a very large proportion of treacle, and a considerable amount of such impurities as sporules of a fungus, particles of cane, albumen, and starch granules, it is no exaggeration to affirm that there could not be less than 100,000 of these insects in every pound of this sugar. Many persons believe that coarse brown sugar sweetens better, or, to use the common phrase, 'goes farther,' than white sugar; but that is a mistake. A teaspoonful of damp brown sugar will certainly sweeten a larger quantity of fluid than a spoonful of white sugar; but it does so because it is much heavi er than the latter; but if equal weights be used it will be found that the white variety is by far the better sweetener. The kind of sugar which is both healthful and economical is the dry, large-grained, and light-colored variety. "Two samples of the sugar were also examined, one by Dr. John Barker, curator of the Royal College of Surgeons, Ireland; the other by Dr. Hassall, of London, a very eminent authority upon the subject. In 15 grains weight, Dr. Hassall found considerably over 100 living insects, or at the rate of 42,000 per pound; and Dr. Barker estimated no fewer than 1,400 in 45 grains' weight, or at the rate of 268,000 Acari in each pound weight of sugar. "With the exception of the date-sugar made in the East,* every kind of raw sugar contains Acari. They are least numerous in the very damp, treacley kinds, because, as they are airbreathing animals, they cannot exist in treacle or water. If a spoonful of raw sugar be dis solved in a wineglassful of water, the animal cules will speedily come to the surface, from which they may be skimmed off and transferred to the object-glass of the microscope. On the surface of the water they appear s white specks, and, as they swim about vigorously, their movements are quite apparent to the naked eye. "The Acari sacchari do not occur in refined sugar of any quality, for the following reasons: 1. Because they cannot pass through the char cally a refined kind; its crystals having been repesie *The date-sugar, which is free from Acari, is pract "clayed," or washed with water. coal filters of the refinery; 2. Because refined sugar does not contain any nitrogenous substance (such as albumen), upon which they could feed, and even the most insignificant animals cannot subsist solely upon sugar, or upon any other kind of food destitute of nitrogen. The only impurity found, and that rarely, in refined sugar, is a trace of iron; its origin is easily explained: At the refinery, the sugar, after its solution in water has been effected, is sometimes put into iron cisterns, where it remains until filters are ready for its reception. If, through negligence, the solution is allowed to remain too long in contact with the iron, it is certain to dissolve a minute portion of the metal, from which its subsequent treatment fails to entirely separate it. When iron in solution is brought into contact with the body termed tannic acid, the two combine and form a black substance, which is the basis of most kinds of black ink. Tannic acid is a natural ingredient of tea; if, therefore, sugar containing iron be dissolved in an infusion of tea, the fluid will instantly acquire an inky hue. The presence of a small quantity of iron in sugar does not in the slightest degree injure its nutritive or healthful qualities; still, as tea resembling ink in appearance, however agreeable to the palate, would be displeasing to the eye, sugar which would thus affect its color is unfitted for domestic use.' "" SWAIN, DAVID LOWRY, LL. D., a statesman, jurist, and educator, of North Carolina, born near Asheville, Buncombe County, N. C., January 4, 1801; died of injuries received by being thrown from his carriage, at Chapel Hill, N. C., September 3, 1868. He was educated at the University of North Carolina, studied law, and was admitted to the bar of North Carolina in 1823. In 1824 he was elected to the House of Commons of the State Legislature from Buncombe County, and in 1831 was appointed one of the judges of the Supreme Court of that State. In 1832 he was chosen Governor of the State, being the youngest man who ever filled that office in North Carolina. On the expiration of his term of office in 1835 he was elected president of the University of North Carolina, as successor to Dr. Caldwell, and held that position till his death. In 1841 he received the honorary degree of LL. D. from the College of New Jersey, and in 1842 the same degree from Yale College. SWEDEN and NORWAY, two kingdoms in Northern Europe, united under one king. Present King, Charles XV., born May 3, 1826; succeeded his father on July 8, 1829. Área of Sweden and Norway, 292,929 square miles. Population of Sweden, according to the census of 1866, 4,160,677; in 1867, 4,195,681. The capital, Stockholm, had, in 1866, 138,189 inhabitants; in 1867, 140,251. (According to former censuses, the population was, in 1748, 1,736,482; in 1810, 2,377,851; in 1855, 3,641,011; in 1860, 3,859,728.) The population of Norway was, according to the decennial census of 1865, 1,701,478. The capital, Christiania, had 65,513 inhabitants. (According to former censuses the population was, in 1855, 1,490,047; in 1845, 1,328,471; in 1835, 1,194,827; in 1825, 1,051,318; in 1815, 885,467:) The Swedish island of St. Bartholomew, in the West Indies, had, in 1866, 2,898 inhabitants. In the Swedish budget for 1868, the revenue was 36,461,270 rix-dollars, the ordinary expenditures 34,054,500; and the extraordinary expenditures 7,438,621; deficit, 5,031,651. Public debt, in 1865, 74,068,000 rix-dollars. The Swedish army consisted, in 1866, of 124,807 men. The fleet, in August, 1868, consisted of 17 armed steamers, carrying 132 guns, and of 31 sailing-vessels. The imports, in 1865, were valued at 105,863,000, and the exports at 108,086,000 rix-dollars. Number of vessels entering the Swedish ports, in 1865, 4,946; together, of 164,637 lasts; number of clearances, 9,458, together, of 438,792 lasts. The merchant navy consisted, in 1863, of 3,236 vessels, together, of 86,404 lasts.-In the Norwegian budget, for the period from 1866 to 1869, the annual revenue and expenditures are each fixed at 5,023,000 specie dollars. The public debt, in 1865, amounted to 8,240,700 dollars. The army, on the peace footing, numbers 12,000, and on the war footing 18,000. The landwehr is to be exclusively used for the defence of the country. The imports, in 1866, were valued at 26,000,000, and the exports at 17,000,000 thalers. The number of vessels entering Norwegian ports, in 1866, was 12,215, together, of 693,626 lasts; the number of clearances, 12,223, together, of 698,736 lasts. The merchant navy, in 1866, numbered 5,750 vessels, together, of 400,000 lasts. Sweden, having enjoyed for more than a half century continuous peace, has made immense progress in developing her internal resources. The people, little numerous in comparison with the extent of the country, are augmenting rapidly. The population has nearly been doubled from 1815 to 1865, and, from the progression made during the last quinquennial periods, the prediction may safely be hazarded that it will again be doubled in fifty years. The construction of the first railway was commenced in 1854, and at the end of 1866 the state possessed a network of 134 Swedish miles, besides about 28 more belonging to private companies, making a total of 162 (1,732 kilometres), or nearly 1,100 English miles. These works have cost the state 102 millions of rix-dollars (146,880,000f.); however, the loans contracted only amount to 80 millions of rix-dollars. The last Diet had decided upon another of 6,000,000 (8,640,000f.) in the country itself. Notwithstanding the existing pressure, the operation was effected without the slightest difficulty. Both Chambers of the Swedish Parliament, in 1868, declared, by a large majority, against the abolition of capital punishment. SWITZERLAND, a federal republic in Europe. Area, 15,722 square miles; population, in 1860, 2,510,494. President of the Federal |