Cologne is the chief seat of the commerce of the Rhine, the goods being transhipped there into large vessels, called Cologne ships, which navigate to Hol land, and are of the burthen and rigging of Ilidiamen, although they seldom draw above five feet water.
At Rastadt the Rhine receives, by the Marg, the great floats and rafts from thc Black Forest. The Neckar, the Alayne, and the Lahne, are also collaterals. The vessels used on these rivers are long, and very narrow, and of about 30 tons burthen.
The Moselle is navigable for large Rhenish barges from Coblentz by Treves; to Metz in Lorraine. At Metz there is a transhipping into lighter vessels, to as cend to Nancy.
The Meuse not being connected with the present sub ject, we proceed to the Danube in Austria. This mag nificent river affords a navigation of about 1500 miles. Below belgrade the river is interrupted with cataracts, but upwards there is a free navigation as far as Ulm. The upper branches of the Danube are in general too rapid for navigation, though vast rafts of timber are float ed down them from the forests of Bavaria and Upper Austria. The Inn is nearly as large as the Danube at their junction, and is navigable ft om the Tyrol. The Salza, the Traun, and the Ens. have had their navigation much attended to, on account or the salt mines. At Is chel, below Hallstadt, is a perwis, or river lock, by which the navigation is enabled to pass the Falls of the Traum. The boats arc towed upwards by four horses each. Below the influx of the Train) and the Ens are rocks and whiilpools of Stroudel and Wirbel ; but the Danube continues, in general, a deep and unobstructed rivet. as far as the city of Vienna. Regular passage boats travel weekly from most of the towns on its banks to that city. Beyond Vienna the river divides into va rious channels or less depth, which do not again com pletely unite until it reaches Komorn in Hung-ary.
The chief branches of the Danube are also navigable to a great extent, viz. the Drave into Carinthia, the Save as far as Laybach. In Croatia the KuIpa is navigable from the Save at Siszeg to Carlstadt. The Unna, on the frontiers of Turkey, is also navigable.
A good deal has already been clone in the interior. From Vienna, the canal or Newstadt passes for 40 miles southwards, to the town of Wiener Newstach on the Leitha ; and forms the first pait of the general line of navigation to the Adriatic and lower 'Danube, which has been planned and marked out.
In the lower plains of Hungary, between the Danube and the Teyssc, the canal of Francis was completed in 1802. It is 40 miles in length, and has only four locks. Beyond the Teysse, and near to the outfal of the Francis canal, are the Bega navigations, which were completed in 1750, from the Teysse to Tcnieswar, and thence up the Temes river.
The Teysse itself is navigable up to Szegedin, where it receives the Maros; and about 100 miles above the canal Francis, another canal of junction was laid out in 1804, and 50 miles extent, from the Teysse to the Da nube at Buda.
Many other canal projects have been suggested, and some surveyed, but, as we cannot here enter into the details, WC shall now proceed to the north of Germany.
Prussia, Elbe, Oder, E.5'c.
The great plain which forms the north of Germany and Poland, offers an extensive and favourable field for inland navigation. It is traversed by five or six large rivers, which, with their branches, are navigable through out most of the plains. In the northern parts is a vast number of lakes ; and though these admit of being ea sily connected, nothing of any importance was effected previous to the formation of the Prussian monarchy.
The little canal, or navigation of the Stecknitz from Lubec to the Elbe at Lauenburg, is a work of consider able antiquity, and reckoned amongst the first in which the invention of locks was employed. It is only naviga ble by boats of small burthen, and drawn by men.
The Prussian navigations form a complete chain, con necting the Elbe, Oder, Vistula, and the Niemen, by a line nearly parallel to, and 100 miles distant from, the shores of the Baltic, and at much the same distance from the frontiers of the Austrian States. This line passes through the capital Berlin, and extends from Hamburgh, or Magdeburgh, to the frontiers of Russia; in all about 500 miles. The greatest part consists of rivers, the arti ficial cu,s being only a few portions of no great extent or lockage.