The following shows the progress of the canal trade for several years :— COMPARATIVE STATEMENT of the tonnage of property CLEARED FROM, AND RECEIVED AT, OSWEGO BY CANAL FOR FOUR SEASONS. COMPARATIVE STATEMENT OF THE TONNAGE OF PROPERTY SHIPPED AND TOLLS RECEIVED AT Last spring there was a reduction on flour and wheat, which had the effect to diminish the receipts of tolls at this point, without increasing the shipments by canal of the articles on which the reduction was made. In addition to the canal trade, the railroads take a fair show of the business which concentrates from the lakes and the surrounding country in Oswego. During the past year, the Welland Railroad, projected by the Hon. W. H. Merritt, and commenced in May, 1857, has been completed, and will be ready for operation the coming spring. This road runs along the banks of the Welland Canal, connecting Lake Erie with Ontario, and will aid materially in the dispatch and certainty of immediate transportation, at all times, of freight between the lakes. The storehouses of the railroad are so arranged that cars from Lake Erie will run into the upper story, and discharge grain into the vessel with shutes or slides, or drop it into the bins below, without the expense of elevators or any other machinery; while upward freight will be discharged by hydraulic cranes direct from the vessel into the cars without the assistance of manual labor. One engine is estimated to perform four trips per day-hauling three hundred tons down, and from sixty to one hundred tons up-keeping three trains employed-two loading and discharging at either end of the road, and one moving at a speed which will convey a cargo from port Dalhousie to port Colborne in from one-and-a-half to two hours. The canal and railroad will assist each other in the transportation of the vast amount of freight passing from lake to lake, and both are entitled on public grounds to every possible aid and encouragement. The Oswego and Syracuse Railroad was completed in 1848. It forms a junction at Syracuse with the New York Central, and Syracuse, Binghamton, and New York Railroad. The track extends along the west side of the Oswego River, crossing Seneca River near Baldwinsville. Its length is 36 miles. From the annual report of the company for the fiscal year ending September 30th, 1858, we copy the following, showing the OPERATIONS OF THE YEAR IN TRANSPORTATION AND MILES RUN. Miles run by passenger trains.. Miles run by freight trains... No. of passengers (all classes) carried in the cars.. Miles traveled by passengers, or passengers carried one mile... Total movement of freight, or number of tons carried one mile... AMOUNT OF FREIGHT, SPECIFYING QUANTITY AND TONS. Of the products of the forest. Of vegetable food Other agricultural products .. 1,214 Manufactures 1,162 Merchandise 26,453 Other articles 211 44,870 23,975 92,496 2,131,962 42,810 1,375,557 8,938 3,642 1,190 This road maintains a semi-annual dividend of four per cent, and this fact shows that it is doing a successful business. The navigation of the lakes employed a large tonnage, and this has been as follows: The following statement shows the number and kind of vessels engaged in the commerce of the lakes, with the tonnage of the same for 1845, 1848, and 1858: Total.... 380 76,000 719 130,434 1,213 331,153 166 56,380 193 63,346 335 73,148 In 1832 the whole vessel tonnage on the lakes was less than 7,000 tons. The following is a comparative statement of the number of vessels, tonnage, and crews, arrived at the port of Oswego, for a series of years: 1853... 1854... 1855... ARRIVALS OF AMERICAN VESSELS IN THE COASTING trade. Men. 20,559 No. vessels. 1,478 18,040 488,220 1858... 1,336 The decrease of tonnage and men in 1858 may be attributed to the "breaking up" of the American line of steamers, running between Ogdensburg and Lewiston. During the past season only one boat has run to this port; but it is understood that on the opening of navigation a full line will be established on the old south shore route. The trade with Canada has been divided as follows: Foreign vessels. Total. American vessels.— Years. Vessels. Men. Tonnage. Vessels. Men. Tonnage. Vessels. Men. TODDSFO 1853... 1,469 8,332 132,946 763 4,674 86,212 4,074 33,565 748,606 1854.. 1,004 6,001 93,414 515 3,223 62,869 3,060 27,602 632,761 1855.... 1,469 18,471 260,094 477 2,802 54,471 3,420 39,313 803,785 1856.... 1,499 14,621 236,246 373 2,258 45,174 3,550 38,414 856,765 1857.... 1,083 8,832 122,460 365 2,363 50,264 2,702 26,915 614,980 1858.... 1,223 9,859 180,430 332 2,525 56,663 2,891 26,573 622,248 The following table shows the comparative receipts at Oswego by lake, of a few leading articles for the last three years:— It will be seen by the above that there has been an increase, as compared with last year, of 1,219,407 bushels wheat, 909,626 bushels corn, 616,820 bushels oats, 268,757 bushels barley, 23,572 bushels rye, 35,376 bushels peas, 6,265 bushels beans, 15,601 bushels potatoes, 332,850 shingles, 957,550 hoops, 614 cords cedar, 21,750 brick; and a decrease of 4,700 barrels flour, 2,400 barrels fish, 732,183 feet lumber, 817,846 feet lath, and 358 tons coal. The chief articles of trade, as well by lake as by railroad and canal, are grain and flour. The whole quantities of these articles shipped eastward from the lake regions have been as follows for three years:— TOTAL MOVEMENT OF FLOUR AND GRAIN EASTWARD IN 1856. Total........ 816,478 23,700,382 900,000 2,422,620 8,465,671 9,632,477 2,025,519 27,929,619 892,972 4,216,957 3,879,189 19,956,025 14,282,632 4,684,969 58,269,571 TOTAL MOVEMENT OF FLOUR and grain EASTWARD IN 1857. Via Lake Ontario .... 1,175,411 8,736,765 485,767 18,044,854 1,049,108 6,835,065 1,321,406 22,031,164 462,976 4,350,036 Via Suspension Bridge. 180,194 148,138 8,477,258 8,779,832 2,270,149 45,476,662 TOTAL MOVEMENT OF Flour and grain EASTWARD IN 1858. Via Lake Ontario.... Via Suspension Bridge. From Ohio River east. Total....... 4,602,780 20,794,515 10,558,527 5,080,615 59,447,557 Thus the quantities sent by Lake Ontario were in 1856, 23,700,382 bushels; in 1857, 18,044,354 bushels; in 1858, 21,872,995 bushels. The proportion of this Lake Ontario trade which passed into Oswego is seen as follows: MOVEMENT OF BREADSTUFFS over LAKE ONTARIO FOR 1856. MOVEMENT OF Breadstuffs over LAKE ONTARIO FOR 1857. Oswego. 101,363 5,353,026 2,003,992 379,139 920,000 520,386 5,814,877 ..... 23,700,382 ..... 8,242,972 2,938,229 869,680 677,921 5,315,552 18,044,354 MOVEMENT OF BREADSTUFFS OVER LAKE ONTARIO FOR 1858. Oswego. 96,663 6,595,433 2,913,618 549,967 637,933 98,008 44,166 11,322,440 1.200 3,459,066 Ogdensb 382,013 780,707 720,236 2,732 44,126 11,302 12 ..... 1,032,189 276,515 Montr'al 679,450 2,847,685 172,840 24,113 115,880 3,977 821,930 179,598 5,737,366 Total.. 1,237,869 9,960,731 3,847,394 649,675 818,572 167,031 240,243 21,872,991 These figures show that the total receipts during the past year were 1,827,391 bushels less than in 1856, and 3,828,637 bushels more than in 1857. The receipts at Montreal in 1856 were by the Lachine Canal, but since the construction of the Grand Trunk Road, some two years since, the receipts by that route are included. The most remarkable feature in the business of Montreal is the large decrease in the receipts of corn. The aggregate receipts at Ogdensburg show a small but steady increase. The largest increase has been in corn. Cape Vincent shows a small increase in her business. Of the receipts in 1858, 72,412 barrels of flour, 299,770 bushels wheat, 69,023 bushels rye, 66,987 bushels barley, 18,621 bushels oats, and 11,302 bushels peas came from Canada, and 221 barrels flour, 160,621 bushels wheat, 40,700 bushels corn, and 2,000 bushels oats from the States. It will be seen that the bulk of her inward bound freight is from Canada. The total receipts of flour and grain from the different States and Canada West, for the season, at Oswego, foot up as follows:— Total 18,560 163,656 5,084 190,717 359,542 83,981 96,663 6,595,433 2,913,618 637,933 549,967 98,008 This large grain trade is partly attracted by the milling advantages of Oswego. The Oswego River drains a territory of about 7,000 square miles, and is the outlet of eleven lakes, clustering in central New York, the largest of which are the Oneida, Seneca, Cayuga, Canandaigua, Skaneateles, and Onondaga. These lakes form immense natural reservoirs which prevent floods or undue exhaustion. The extreme elevation and depression of the river, at any season of the year, does not exceed three feet-so that no disasters, so common to great water-power rivers, ever occur by reason of freshets. The State engineers have guaged the water flowing in the Oswego River at various times. They estimate the quantity in ordinary high water at about 12,000 cubic feet per second. At the extreme low water of 1848 they calculated 2,160 cubic feet per second. It is very rare that it falls below 2,500 feet, and still more rare that for ninety days it would average less than 3,000 feet. If then, 6,000 is added for possible increase by means of reservoirs, we have a minimum supply of 9,000 feet per second. There is one hundred feet of available fall on the Oswego River from a point ten miles south of the city. The whole mechanical effect for this fall would be between 11 and 12 horse power per foot of water. The lower fall is about 6,000 horse power, and the two falls within the city 12,000. The mills use at least 20 horse power per run of stone, which would make the supply of water sufficient at the two dams for 600 run of stone, or 300 on each dam. In the year 1826 the first mill for the manufacture of flour was erected in Oswego, on the east side of the river, by Messrs. Alvin Bronson and T. S. Morgan. From that period the flouring business at Oswego has been gradually increasing in magnitude-slowly at first, but quite rapidly during the last twelve years; and at the present day there is perhaps no point in the United States, or in the world, where more flour can be manufactured than in that city. The mills and some of the elevators below the bridge were destroyed by fire in July, 1853, but were immediately rebuilt upon a large and more extensive scale, and with all the modern improvements. The number of mills in the city at the present time is 16, with 88 run of stone, which are capable of grinding and packing about 9,000 barrels of flour per day. Five of these mills are located on the harbor, and elevate their grain from lake vessels, and discharge their flour into canal boats. The others elevate their grain from canal boats, and discharge into the same. |