The reader will remember, that of the seven mouths by which the Nile formerly discharged itself, only two remain; one, the eastern, passing into the sea at Damietta; while the other, or western, discharges itself in a similar way near Rosetta. The Delta, lying between them, is of extreme fertility. Should he succeed, not only will the productions of this be greatly increased, but, by leading the waters off east and west of it, he will be able to redeem from the encroaching deserts an immense extent of country now quite abandoned. But difficulties of an alarming kind present themselves. The bottom of the river is loose and unstable; and the shores are so friable, that if an attempt is made to build a dam across it at once, the water will, in the mean time, be working out for itself new channels along the sides. Minds like that of Mohammed Ali, however, are only stimulated, not discouraged, by serious obstacles. He has employed M. Lenon, a French gentleman, and self-taught, but an engineer of superior abilities; and trusting the whole matter to him, has given him, as a nominal superior, Mahmoud Bey, the late governor of Cairo, one of the most wealthy men of the country, and apparently an agreeable coadjutor in this great undertaking. The subjoined plan is copied from one drawn for us by M. Lenon, and the measurements were also furnished by him. [Illustration] In this _A_ represents the river before branching, _B B_ the Rosetta, and _C C_ the Damietta branch. It is proposed to build a dam across at _E_ and _e_, sufficiently high to elevate the waters nearly to the level of the banks, which are here about thirty feet above the usual surface of the river. The engineer commences with cutting the canals _F F_ and _f f_, each thirteen hundred feet wide and thirty-two in depth, leaving cross strips at _L_ and _l_, until the canal is ready for use. Across these canals at _G_ and _g_ dams are to be constructed forty-one feet in height, including the foundation, and a hundred and twenty-eight in thickness; and in them are to be left sluices of sufficient capacity to allow the passage of the entire river. When these are completed, the sluices are left open, and the cross slips at _L_ and _l_ being cut away, the river seeks the more direct passage, and leaves the old channels _M_ and _m_ nearly dry. Piles are now to be driven into the bottom of the river, and in these the dams _E_ and _e_ are to be constructed; the former one thousand, and the latter eight hundred and twenty feet in length, each thirty-four feet in height. These being completed, the sluices are to be closed, and the water is thus carried to the required height. By means of the canals _I_, _I_ and _K_, it is to be carried over the Delta, and in a similar manner is also led off to the east and west, as far as they may desire. In this latter operation they will be assisted by the nature of the ground; for here, as along the Mississippi and the Ganges, the ground