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Rh 46 miles long, was unable to meet the growing requirements of trade and the North Sea Canal was therefore excavated recently, running from Amsterdam due westwards to the German Ocean. Huge gates protect the entrances to both the canals, and keep the water in the required height, irrespective of the height of the sea.

An excursion from Amsterdam to Helder is very interesting. The Railway line runs through a uniformly level country (the province of North Holland) and crosses the North Holland Canal two or three times until both the Railway line and the canal terminate at Helder. A great part of this province (North Holland) is 12 to 15 feet below the level of the sea from which it is protected on the west (i. e. towards the German Ocean) by natural Dunes or sand hills carefully preserved and improved, and on the east side (i. e. towards the Zuider Zee) by lofty embankments. The province so carefully wrested from the sea is one of the richest in Holland, and the sheep here are the best that can be obtained in Europe both for meat and for wool. The process of draining marshes and lakes and so wresting new lands from the sea is still going on. The principal Polders (reclaimed lands) are the Beemster, Purmer, Schermer and the Polder of Haarlem. And it is now proposed to convert the whole of the Zuider Zee into a Polder or reclaimed land! If this magnificent scheme is realized, Holland will gain 700 square miles of country and the Geography of the World will be changed! Smiling fields and beautiful