this lock from the higher level by opening a water-gate until enough has
entered to float the vessel up to the level of the higher section of the
canal; the gates before the vessel are then opened and she passes out
into the new section. If she is to be taken to a lower section, the
reverse of this operation accomplishes this: the water is let out until
she is on the lower level.

[Illustration: ROUTE OF NICARAGUA CANAL.]

Mr. Eiffel, the engineer who designed the great tower in Paris which has
his name, designed locks for the Panama Canal, but in March, 1889, work
was stopped on account of lack of money.

How extravagant an operation this canal was, is told by the figures. Two
hundred and fifty millions of dollars were spent, and only one hundred
and forty millions' worth of work can be shown for it. This great
difference created a scandal throughout France, especially as the poorer
French people had been led to invest in canal shares, in the belief that
they would yield great profit.

The Nicaragua Canal plan is a very different one. The distance across
the Isthmus at the point chosen for this route is much greater than for
the Panama Canal, and yet there are fewer difficulties in the way.
Although the route is one hundred and seventy miles long, there will
have to be only twenty-seven miles of actual canal and only six locks.
This is on account of the use of Nicaragua Lake and the rivers. The lake
is the largest of any lying between the Great Lakes of the United States
and Lake Titicaca in Peru.

The route, as laid out after many exploring expeditions have been sent