A space of eight miles intervenes between the Timsah Lake and the Bitter Lakes, and in this space the cuttings are very deep and difficult. The soil being almost purely sand, the constant labour of powerful dredging machines is constantly required, to prevent the channel from filling up. The deepest cutting occurs at El Guisr, or Girsch, and is no less than 85 feet below the surface: at the water-level it is 112 yards wide, at the summit-level 173 yards. In traversing the Bitter Lakes the course of the canal is marked by embankments. From the southern end of these lakes to Suez, a distance of about thirteen miles, the cuttings are heavy and deep. After many discouraging failures, M. de Lesseps' great work was completed last year, and the formal opening of the canal took place in the presence of the Prince and Princess of Wales, and a goodly number of princes, potentates, and distinguished personages. It is now open to navigation from end to end, and ships of considerable tonnage have successfully accomplished the passage. Whether the canal is a _commercial_ success may still be doubted. The cost of further deepening and enlarging it, and of maintaining its banks and harbours, amounts to a sum which, as yet, the traffic charges are not at all likely to defray. But, in an engineering sense, the Suez Canal is one of the wonders of this wonderful nineteenth century. FOOTNOTES: [E] August 17, 1850. * * * * * Beautifully Illustrated Works. EARTH AND SEA. From the French of LOUIS FIGUIER. Translated, Edited, and Enlarged by W. H. DAVENPORT ADAMS, Illustrated with Two Hundred and Fifty Engravings by FREEMAN, GIACOMELLI, YAN D'ARGENT, PRIOR, FOULQUIER, RIOU, LAPLANTE, and other Artists. Imperial 8vo. Handsomely bound in cloth and gold. Price 15s. This volume is founded upon M. Figuier's "_La Terre et Les Mers_," but so many additions have been made to the original, and its aim and scope have been so largely extended, that it may almost be called a new work. These additions and this extension were deemed necessary by the Editor, in order to render it more suitable for the British public, and in order to bring it up to the standard of geographical knowledge. THE DESERT WORLD. From the French of ARTHUR MANGIN. Translated, Edited, and Enlarged by the Translator of "The Bird," by Michelet. With One Hundred and Sixty Illustrations by W. FREEMAN, FOULQUIER, and YAN D'ARGENT. Imperial 8vo, full gilt side and gilt edges. Price 12s. 6d. SATURDAY REVIEW.--"_The illustrations are numerous, and extremely well cut. Two handsomer and more readable volumes than this and 'The Mysteries of the Ocean' it would be difficult to produce._" THE MYSTERIES OF THE OCEAN. From the French of ARTHUR MANGIN. By the Translator of "The Bird." With One Hundred and Thirty Illustrations by W. FREEMAN and J. NOEL. Imperial 8vo, full gilt side and gilt edges. Price 10s. 6d.