Another objection which has been raised against the direct canal is, that being cut through moving downs, it will soon be encumbered by them, and that the expense of keeping it in order, will consequently be so great, that it will be necessary to abandon it, if it ever be undertaken. To refute this objection we will recapitulate the facts in their actual integrity. From Suez to the extremity of the Bitter Lakes, the soil is, it is true, sandy at the surface, but however sandy it may be, the winds do not produce any modification in the superficial state of this part of the Isthmus. This is to be accounted for by the fine sand being kept moist by the sea water, which reaches the surface by percolation and capillary attraction; the sand, which is out of reach of the moisture, is coarse sand, or rather small gravel, bound together by magnesian earth, in such a manner that the wind has no effect upon it. So true is this, that at several places in this desert we found, in December, 1854, the traces left by the tents of the engineers who were employed there in 1847. The best proof that can be given of the stability of the soil in this part of the desert is the situation of the banks of the ancient canal, which still remain all along, as far as the Bitter Lakes. The torrents of rain which sometimes fall in this locality, may well, in 1200 years, have worn ravines in these banks, and partly filled the canal. In some parts even, the banks have been carried away by sudden torrents, but nowhere are they buried by the sand. Vestiges of antiquity, two or three thousand years old, may still be seen at the surface of the soil on the very line through which the canal is to pass. It is only on approaching Lake Timsah that moveable downs are met with, which surround and cut it in several places, changing their shape rather than their position; all the other downs which are met with in the form of chains of hillocks, and which occupy the space comprised between the bar of El Guisr and Pelusium, have long been naturally fixed by various plants, which have sprung up there under the influence of heat and moisture. It is, then, only the downs in the vicinity of Lake Timsah which require to be fixed artificially. Now, the fixing of downs has already become a special branch of industry presenting great advantages. The hills of sand which devastated the _Landes_ of Bordeaux, and advanced every year into the interior of the country, rendering it barren, are now transformed into magnificent pine forests, which yield turpentine, pitch, various kinds of resin and timber. This change, or rather this miracle, was effected by the simplest means. After an attentive examination of the facts, M. Bremontier, engineer-general, to whom we are indebted for the fixing of the downs, had observed that, in digging at the summit of the most elevated downs, the sand was moist at a few _centimetres_ from the surface.