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BIRD'S-EYE VIEW OF THE DOUBLE LOCKS AT GATUN. TOTAL RISE FROM SEA LEVEL TO LAKE LEVEL, 85 FEET.

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COPYRIGHT, 1912, BY MUNN & CO., INC.

This work is protected by over eighty Copyrights,
and no matter must be reproduced except by written
permission. Rights of translation into all languages,
including the Scandinavian, are reserved.

Published October, 1912.

Printed in the United States by
A. H. Kellogg Co., New York,

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The Editorial staff of the "Scientific American" receives annually about 15,000 inquiries covering a wide range of topics-no field of human achievement or of natural phenomena is neglected. The information sought for, in many cases, cannot be readily found in text-books or works of reference. The need of a compendium of useful information presented itself some twenty years ago, and a part of the field was covered by the publication in 1901 of the "Scientific American Cyclopedia of Receipts, Notes, and Queries," of which over 25,000 copies were sold. This book becoming obsolete in time was supplanted by its successor, the "Scientific American Cyclopedia of Formulas," issued in 1911. There was, however, another field which was not covered: the public, or at least the public of the "Scientific American," demanded something which did not exist-they wanted a book which should deal with a vast range of topics other than formulæ. They wanted information about the Antarctic region, the Panama route, shipping, navies, armies, railroads, population, education, patents, submarine cables, wireless telegraphy, manufactures, agriculture, mining, mechanical movements, astronomy and the weather. The Editors of the present volume felt constrained to compile such a book, which was issued in 1904, under the same title as this book. Its success was immediate, and an edition of 10,000 copies was inadequate to supply the demand. In 1905 a second large edition was issued, and was eagerly bought up by those who wished this useful companion for the desk or library. As the

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