76 DOCUMENTARY HISTORY OF THE FLORIDA CANAL ' the strata that is exposed as Ocala limestone is lower than the strata in south Georgia. The strata of the Ocala limestone is Eocene, whereas that of south Georgia is Oligocene. It follows in that that the flow of water in the Ocala limestone area is not from Georgia and points beyond, that underground flow is necessarily one that falls within the area of that strata. That strata is of a varying thickhMes. The Ocala limestone is a very porous bed of lime- stone and the strata that underlies it is more or less mixed limestone, but it is predominantly limestone as disclosed by the wells. There can be no flow through the underground portion except that which will be adjacent to this canal, that is, except that which falls in that area. The investigation that was made by the United States Engineers on the Oklawaha improvement, re- ferred to, determined that there is practically no surface fow from the great lakes of the South. Whether any part of that great lakes of the South comes to the surface as Silver Springs is unknown. Exactly where the Silver Springs fow comes from is problematical. If some part of the Silver Springs fow should come from the south of the canal, it will materially affect the fow of the canal if it breaks into the canal. Some recognized statements have been made about those caverns; the caverns in Ocala limestone are not worn down only to the sea level but fairly well below the sea level. Surface flow is a dangerous engineering project on which to base an expenditure of $300,000,000. Mr. KAT. I will proceed further by introducing Capt. E. W. Myers. Will you please give your name? Captain MTma E. W. Myers. Mr. KAY. Address? Captain MTaS Tampa, Fla. Mr. KAY. Business? Captain MTms Pilot Mr. KAT. At whose request do you appear? Captain Mrms. At the request of the railroads. Mr. KAT. Do you hold a Government license to navigate ocean-going and other vessels? Captain Mvrms I hold a license as master of ocean vessels with unlimited tonnage on any ocean. Mr. KAr. What experience have you had in navigating vessels in canals? Captain MTms. Considerable experience. My permanent occupation is op- erating on canals of 200 feet in width of from 1 to 3 miles in length and 300 feet in width, 15 miles in length. Mr. KAr. You have heard the proposed cross-State canal described this morn- ing. Do you consider that pilots will be required to navigate vessels through it? Captain MTrm I do. Mr. KAT. How many? Captain MTrs. Possibly 4; at least 3. Mr. KAT. Why? Captain Mims. Well, on account of the long route, according to the Federal, license laws, a man holding a license is not permitted to operate over 13 hours in any 24-hour period without 8 hours of rest thereafter. Mr. KAT. What do you think will be a safe average speed for the larger vessels navigating through this canal? Captain Mmma. I would say from 4% to 6 knots an hour. Mr. KAT. What are some of the hazards of canal operation? Captain MYis. Fog or thick weather of any description, passing of vessels, suction from other vessels and banks, and other mediums such as terminals, and vessels lying alongside. Mr. KAY. Do you believe ocean vessels from the Atlantic Ocean to the Gulf of Mexico and vice versa would use this canal in preference to the well-estab- lished lanes of traffic? Captain MIas. I would say that with a material saving there may be certain types of vessels that would use this canal. Mr. KAT. What do you mean by certain types? Captain MTms. Well, for instance, large vessels and vessels having the faster speeds would be less liable to use the canal due to the fact that they may enter the canal behind a vessel of only 8 or 9 knots speed, provided 9 knots could be maintained. Mr. KAT. How about vessels with 16 knots speed? Captain MTzrL They would, of course, have to reduce their speed, and the material loss of time in going through the canal, or the difference in going through the canal and making the outside passage, would not be advantageous.