  A new operator equation for periodic gravity waves on water of finite depth
is derived and investigated; it is equivalent to Babenko's equation considered
in \cite{KD}. Both operators in the proposed equation are nonlinear and depend
on the parameter equal to the mean depth of water, whereas each solution
defines a parametric representation for a symmetric free surface profile. The
latter is a component of a solution of the two-dimensional, nonlinear problem
describing steady waves propagating in the absence of surface tension.
Bifurcation curves (including a branching one) are obtained numerically for
solutions of the new equation; they are compared with known results.
