The Iron Age 1892-01-07: Vol 49

THE 0 a WoRsUySe AL A Review of the Hz sah ower soyr90® d Metal Trades. 7. jee 2»ON AGE 6 ee “Wat. IF Published every Thursday Morning by David ‘Williams, Nos. 96, 98,100 & 102 Reade St., New York Vol. XLIX: No. 1. Reading Matter Contents........ page Classified List of Advertisers.... “‘ 148 Alphabetical Index to Advertisers ‘‘ 152 Advertising and Subscription Rates “‘ 153 The Iron Age Hardware Price Book & WITH MULTIPLE INDEX. 7 x 10 inches, 280 pages, flexible seal grain’ leather, with pocket; Crane's:heavy ledger paper, $5.00. postpaid, by DAVID LESAN, Publubor’ 96-102 Reade St., New Yor BRISTOLS’ PATENT STEEL BELT LACING. Saves Belting. Saves Money. Saves Time. Saves Patience. READY TO APPLY FINISHED JOUNT The Bristols Mfg. Co., Waterbury, Conn. White Mountain Ice Cream Freezer Is absolutely the only Triple Action yaa paeee. Wecanprove it. Is better advertised ; a easier sold; giv edly Detter satisfac on, and embodies more Seepupes of actual merit than found in any other Freezer e uced. Further informa- tion furnished upon P cation. The White Mountain Freezer Co., Nashua, N. H. @For sale by all Bieding dealers in Hardware and Furnishing CRESCENT FOUNDRY. L, WERTHEIMER, MANUFACTURER OF All Kinds of Castings. 8 z ag —SPECIALTIES— Blast Furnace, Mill and Machinery Castings. ALLEGHENY CITY, PA. New York, Thursday, January 7, 1892. 5O a Year, including Postage, tia ngle Copies, Ten Cents. NEW CLUB PAPER SHOT SHELLS, nisin alee Gn: ~ WATERPROOF PAPER SHOT SHELL = = NEW CLUB MANUFACTURED BY =~ |N6 Union Metallic Cartridge Co, —BRIDGEPORT, CONN.—— Especially adapted for all Nitro and Black Powders. New Club Shells loaded with S. S. Powder carried in stock. RANDOLPH & CLOWES WATERBURY, CONN., ——SOLE MANUFACTURERS OF—— Brown’s Patent Seamless Drawn Copper House Boilers, CANNOT COLLAPSE. WILL NOT LEAK. Ordinary weight boiler tested to 200 lbs., extra heavy to 300 ]bs. pressure per pees but not recommended for a service of more than half the test. Send for —— = this su aan two Lape drawn nee shells. Handsomest, best and st nd for circular giving instructions for prevention of accidents. oa ~~ At Bro & Bros. Tubing and Boller Works and the Brown & Bros. Brass and Copper! lling Mille ~~ oe JENKINS BROS.’ VALVES.|71 Johe St., New York. E very valve tested and warranted, all parts interchangeable Fifth St. Philad’ Nothing but best Steam Metal used in the manufacture. 21 N. h St. a. K eyed Stuffing Box and Disc Removing Lock Nut orth Canal 1s used only in the Jenkins Bros. Valves. 31 and 33 Ni , Chloage WN one are genuine unless stamped with “Trade-Mark.” 7 7 S hould you order INSIST on having Jenkins Bros.’ Valves 105 Milk Street, Beston, TURN BVUCEHE UES. The list retail price of this Buckle ts less than one-half the wholesale price of inferior goods when we commenced to manufacture. NEW YORK OFFICE, 44 DEY STREET. CLEVELAND CITY FORGE & IRON CO., CLEVELAND, O. MONG the new resolutions for the year include one to give a trial to my ‘‘ AaAl” brand of fine cutlery. A. J. JORDAN, St Louis. Factory: EAST INDIA WORKS, SHEFFIELD, ENG. OIL STOVES. Adams & Westlake, Dangler, Monitor American, Florence, National, Champion, Garland, Union, Crown, Wm. Vogel & Bros: Central Oilzgas Stove Co. BOSTON. NEW YORK. CHICAGO. SAN FRANCISCO. io loa THE IRON AGE Ansonia Brass sg’ Correr Co. MANUFACTURERS OF BRASS AND COPPER Seamless Tubes, Sheets, Rods and Wire. ingot Copper. SOLE MANUFACTURERS Tobin Bronze Condenser Plates, Pump Linings, Wire, Round, Square and Hexagon Bars, for Pump Piston Rods and Bolt Forgings. 19 & 21 Cliff Street, - - New York. JOHN DAVOL & SONS, AGENTS FOR Brooklyn Brass & Copper Co., DEALERS IN INGOT COPPER, SPELTER, LEAD, TIN, ANTIMONY, SOLDER & OLD METALS, 100 John Street, = New York, Rome Brass and Copper Mills, ROME, N.Y., — MANUFACTURERS OF — Roll and Sheet Brass and German Silver. Brass, Copper and German Silver Wire. Rrass and Copper Rods and Brased Brass Tubing. Rivets and Burs. Seamless Brass Ferrules. Check and Key Tags. Braziers and Sheathing Copper. Copper Bottoms. Bolts, Circles, &c., &c. A New Basis for phonies ophy. By T. Srerry Hunt, Third edition, revised and enlarged, with a new preface. 247 pages, $2.00 For sale by David Williams, 96-102 Reade St., N. Y.' 294 Pearl St., 3; a chemical philos- Waterbury Brass Co. Sheet, Roll and Platers’ Brass, Germen _Ezee. Op lee Brana Brass A. Ger- Copper Te ing. Copper Rivets and Burs, Brass Kettles, Door Rail, Brass T pee cussion —— Powder Flasks, Me Te) Tape Meas . aa 8 rass o Wares a every Gecigtien. Cartridge Metal in Sheets or Shelis a Specialty, Sole Agents for the CAESeee, | MFG. CO.'S Line of Sporting g¢ DEPOTS: 206 Greadway, New York. 26 Eddy St.. Previ- dence, R. |. MILLS AT WATERBURY, CONN. THE Tue Plume & Atwooo Mee. Go, MANUFACTURERS OF Sheet and Roll Brass Win GERMAN SILVER AND GILDING METAL COPPER RIVETS AND BURRS, OOP- PER ELECTRICAL WIRE, Pins, Brase Butt Hinges, Jack Oh«in Keresene Burners, Lamp Trimmings, £0 18 MURRAY ST., NEW YORK. 71 PEARL 8T., BOSTON. 90 MARKET ST., CHICAGO, | FACTORIES, WATERBURY, CON. Holmes, Booth & Haydens MANUFACTURERS OF ROLLING MILL, THOMASTON, CONN. Sheet, Roll Brass, Brass and German Silver Wire. ‘'New Haven Copper Co.,|COPPER RIVETS AND BURRS. SOLE MAKERS OF POLISHED COPPER Under Patent of T. James, Sept. 12, 1876. ALSO MANUFACTURERS AND DEALERS IN BRAZIERS’ & SHEATHING COPPER, Kettles, Bottoms, Bolts, Circles, &c., ALSO MANUFACTURERS OF Cast Steel Augers and Bits of Superior Quality. MATTHIESSEN & HEGELER ZINC CO., LA SALLE, ILLINOIS, SMELTERS OF SPELTER, AND MANUFACTURERS OF SHEET ZINC AND SULPHURIC ACID Special Sizes of Zinc cut to order. Rolled Battery Plates. Selected Plates for Etchers’ and Lithographers’ use. Selected Sheets for Pa Stove and er and Card Makers’ use. ashboard Blanks. ZINCS FOR LECLANCHE BATTERY. BRASS Goons MFG. co., NEW YORK. JACK CHAIN. SEAMLESS TUBING, BRASS AND COPPER. Brazed, Brass and Copper Tubing. Bare and Insulated Wire for Elec- tric Lighting and Street Bail- way Use. Lamp Goods and Kerosene Burners in great variety. FACTORIES: 25 Park Place, Waterbury, Conn. New York. SCOVILL MFG. COMPANY, BRASS Sheet, Wire, Tubes, BUTT HINGES, TT AMP coops NOVELTIES. PURE Seam 210 bake 4 eine WILLIAM S, FEARING. 100 Chambers St., NEW YORK, SELLS TO THE TRADE Ufrs. of Stamped Brass, Silver and Nickeled Goods, Brass Labels for Cans and Kubber Moulds, Sheet Brass, Fancy Sheet Brass, BRONZE DOOR KNOBS. Silver, Copper, Brass Bronze and Plated Roses, Combined Rose and Escutcheon Plates, Socket Shells, &c. Patent Mirror Pin Cushion Business Cards. Mucilage Brushes. Noveltiesof New Design made to orde SALESROOM : 88 Chambers St., New York. FACTORY : 250 to 254 State St., Brooklyn.| Copper Tubes, Brass and Cop- HENDRICKS BROTHERS, Belleville Copper Rolling Mills, Braziers, Bolt and Sheathing COPPER. COPPER WIRE 'AND RIVBTS, Importers ana Dealers in ingot Copper, Block Tin, Spelter, Lead, Antimony, etc 49 CLIFF ST., NEW YORK. as gi, mmm mm per Rods, Brass Ferrules, Pure Copper Wire, Sheet and Ingot Uopper, ’ Tin, Antimony, Lead, &c. INGOT «x0 orur COPPER MANUFACTURED BY THE ORFORD COPPER CO., FRANCIS WISTER, Agent, Ballitt Building. ~ - Philadelphia. ‘THE IRON AGE THURSDAY, JANUARY 7, 1892. THE WHALEBACK. The McDougall whaleback barges and steamers continue to attract wide atten tion, and by many are regarded as likely to create a revolution in the handling of heavy freight on the lakes, the At- lantic and the Pacific. Certainly very rapid progress has been made. Including No. 101, 18 vessels have already been built by the American Steel Barge Company of Superior, Wis. Ofthese the Colgate Hoyt, Joseph L. Colby, Charles W. Wetmore, E. B Bartlett and A, D. Thompson are steamers. The company also own Nos. 101 and 202, built in 1890 by Messrs. Handren & Robbins of Brooklyn, for the American Steel Barge Company, and now 116 are 265 x 36 x 24 feet in size and can carry 2400 tons when loaded; Nos. 117 and 118 are 292 x 36 x 22 feet in size and will carry 2500 gross tons of dead weight on a draft of 14 feet 6 inches. The two barges built in Brooklyn, Nos, 201 and 202 are 190 x 32 x 20 feet in size and have a cargo capacity of 1500 gross tons. So much for past work, which aggregates a total of 46,100 gross tons carrying capac ity. On the routes between Lakes Superior and Erie it is estimated that the 18 vessels just enumerated, excluding Nos. 117 and 118, are capable of making a dozen round trips each, in a season of about seven months, and in that time carrying about 1,000,000 tons, and, at an average of 75 cents a ton each way, the earning ability of the vessels would be about $750,000. ma ii m Mr na mn BaP Loo : , A McDOUGALL WHALEBACK UNDER CONST in use upon our c%ast, one of them being the consort of the Joseph L. Colby. The Colgate Hoyt was built especially for the lake trade, and hasa record of 14 miles an hour. The others were built for Atlantic and Pacific Ocean service, and were there- fore built to go through the Welland Canal, their size being accommodated to the length of that waterway. The Vessels Completed, No. 101 is 200 x 25 x 18 feet in size and has a freight capacity of 1200 gross tons; Nos. 102 and 103 are 260 x 36 x 22 feet in size, with a cargo capacity of 2400 tons; Nos. 104 and 105 are 284 x 36 x 22 feet in size, with a capacity of 2700 gross tons, and the Colgate Hoyt, of the same di- mensions of the last preceding two, has a cargo capacity of 200 tons less than they; No. 107 is identical in size and capacity to Nos. 194 and 105; the Joseph L. Colby is 265 x 36 x 24 feet in size, with a cargo ca- pacity of 2100 gross tons; barges Nos. 109, 110 and 111 are of the same general di- mensions as the Colby, with a capacity of 2300 tons of cargo more; the steamers Wet- more, Bartlett and Thompson are each 265 x 38 x 24 feet in size and are capable of car- rying 2500 gross tons; barges Nos. 115 and ter results, therefore, than the Thompson |or Bartlett are able to do, which latter | were built for salt water service, and will | be sent to it as soon as the depth of water | down the rapids of the St. Lawrence will | permit. These four steamers are to be 306 | feet long over all by 38 feet beam by 24 feet depth of hold, and will havea dead weight capacity of 2600 tons on a draft of 14 feet 6 inches, but being built for a draft of at least 17 feet, their gross capacity loaded to it would be 3300 gross tons. The power used in these steamers will be developed | by triple expansion engines of about 1200 indicated horse power. The surplus buoy- | ancy of these steamers, loaded to 17 feet, | would be 1600 gross tons, giving, actually, far more freeboard than is necessary. The tow barges to be built will be of the same ONT wy LZ a a i — ss REE fa Ps Zo RUCTION. The cost of running the whalebacks is| general dimensions as the steamers, with indicated by the following: a gross capacity of about 3000 tons on the The Minnesota Steamship Company’s | same draft. steamer Matoa and the whaleback steamer Colgate Hoyt, made four round trips each, this year, for the purpose of comparison. The trips were from Ashtabula to Lake Superior and return, with ore, and the four trips were made and the cargoes dis- charged in 28 days by each vessel. The Hoyt carried 8660 tons of ore and the Matoa 8500 tons in that period of time. The Hoyt burned 122 tons of coal per trip, on an average, and the Matoa burned 178 tons and 300 pounds per trip in the same time. The bills for engine supplies to the Hoyt averaged $23.40 per trip, and to the Matoa the average was $48.78 per trip. The Work in Hand, The intention of the company is to build four steamers and six barges during the coming winter, and it is stated that there has been added to this the 450 feet long passenger steamer, which had been designed and modeled, but not settled upon positively to build, besides a dry dock, to be the largest on the great lakes. The four steamers to be built are to be purely for lake service and will show bet- 145048 The Vessels Projected. In addition to the work outlined above, which the American Steel Barge Company have decided to build, there is being con- sidered the building of two steamers 315 x 42 x 24 feet in size, to carry 3400 tons on a draft of 16 feet, driven by an engine developing 1500 horse-power, and two others 345 feet long, 45 feet beam and 26 feet depth of hold, capable of carrying | 8850 gross tons on a draft of 16 feet with engines of the triple expansion type de- veloping 1800 independent horse-power, the whole four being expected to maintain 14 miles an hour loaded. | The steamer which is to be built for the | World’s Fair use, and to run between | Chicago and Maekinac Island, making a jround trip daily, is to be 450 feet in | length, 44 feet beam and 26 feet depth of ‘hold, driven by twin screws from triple expansion engines of from 4500 to 5000 horse-power, at the rate of 21 knots an hour on a draft of 15 feet. This steamer will be provided with a central line longi- tudinal bulkhead and eight athwartship YUANVALS MOVERIVHM TIVDQOGW AO NOILVAZIA GNViINV'Id January 7, 1892 "nV 4209 ‘jaaq ¥% fig qaaq BE fig J20q SNe THE IRON AGE. “o POT eS FNS January 7, 1892 bulkheads, and capable of accommodating 1000 passengers on the trip to the island, and three times that number in a day ex- cursion from Chicago. The most complete statement of the peculiarities of the whaleback has been printed in J. B. dDidham’s Paper issued in the ‘‘ Transactions of the Ameri- can Society of Civil Engineers,” from which we reproduce the sections showing the design of the vessels. One view of a whaleback under construction, printed herewith, was taken from a pho- | tograph obtained by a representative of | The Iron Age during a recent visit to the plant of the company at Superior, Wis. | A OO x 2) Ibe, ‘2's 274 Ibe, THE IRON AGE. the whaleback barges tow, when we take into account their large capacity and enor- mous dead-weight ability. For example, the steamship Joseph L. Colby, with only 850 indicated horse-power, can tow not fewer than three of these vessels nearly 8 miles per hour. This would not be bad work if such a boat were light, but when we learn tbat this can be accom- plished with 400,000 bushels, or nearly 9000 tons, of wheat on board the efficiency may surely be called phenomenal; for, though it is generally assumed that the thrust from a screw propeller is greater than the tow-rope pull, this is not always the case. A few weeks since it was the author’s good fortune to make a trip from Lake Ox Sx 12.108. N —~H1 65" x 20 Ibs, afxo'xl ) The, te = on 2422 E 60 x 20 Tbs, Ps D "x 224, Tbs. ! y B 66 x 20 Ibe, ‘C65 x 20 Ibs, Web Frames 24 Feet Apart.—Ballast Tank 42 Inches Deep. MIDSHIP SECTION We may quote the following from Mr. Oldham’s paper: +It was said some time since that the northwestern lakes would soon be flooded with the McDougall barges, and now. it really seems as if this prophecy would very soon be sumnanniel for in his last trip up these lakes the writer passed no fewer than three tows of these vessels, besides the Colgate Hoyt, and the tow with which he came quickly and pleasantly down the lakes. This flooding of the lakes with whalebacks is not looked on compla- cently by either our shipbuilders or ship- owners. As the question is often asked, the author desires to state his opinion that, given sufficient free board, strength and power, the North Atlantic trade may be safely carried on in such vessels. There is nothing more surprising about these whaleback steamers than their extraordinary speed, considering the low power and small consumption of fuel re- quired, unless it is the ease with which OF WHALEBACK. Superior in the handsome wooden steamer Sitka of the Wilson Line. The barges 105 and 109 were in tow, with a combined cargo of over 4700 tons dead weight on board. The Sitka carried in additioa 1900 tons, including her fuel; lLence, the total dead weight carried was 6600 tons, and the gross displacement of all three vessels would not be less than 10,600 tons, or about the same as the ocean mail steamers City of Rome or Servia. A care- ful timing of the vessel proved beyond a shadow of doubt that the Sitka steamed with its tow fully 8$ miles per hour on the average. These vessels transported on this occa- sion 1 gross ton a distance of 100 miles for a consumption of 3.65 pounds of coal at 8 miles per hour; at a 10-knot speed, the best average the writer is acquainted with, equals 1 gross ton carried 100 miles for every 5 pounds of coal burnt. Of course this great discrepancy is largely at- tributable to the higher speed, the power 3 to attain which varies as the cube of the velocity; but even when discounted in this way the result is still worth noting, for it represents in cost of coal 1 ton of freight carried 100 miles for less than 1 cent. Incidentally it raises the well beaten problem of the most economical speed for a freight steamer. The author considers the average speed of modern lake steamers to be too high, as they are not required to run before an Atlantic gale. The great length of tow rope used on the lakes (frequently as long as 120 fathoms) has somewhat surprised the author, for he thought the nearer the power approached the resistance the greater the efficiency. We may assume, however, that these people with great experience know what is best, but there is probably another good reason for working with along tow rope. Ran- kine says, ‘‘that propeller is the best which drives astern the largest quantity of water at the least velocity;” or again, ‘‘the useful work of the propeller is pro- portional to the backward acceleration of the wake.” Other authorities maintain that such water is left astern. We are assuming the vessel to be moving ahead, of course, not astern, but if it be true that the pressure on the after surface of the screw blades is attained by the production of a partial vacuum on the fore side, it would seem that the water must be driven astern, perhaps not quite in the form of a regular twisted rope, as we often see illus- trated, though that the screw blades do give the water in contact with them some rotary motion appears from observation and deduction quite incontrovertible. There is no denying that the bow of a floating vessel, when in motion, does im- part like motion to the film of water of more or less thickness which impinges on her skin. If the hull can thus impart motion to the water in the direction of its advance by the medium of skin friction, does it not follow that the screw blades may also impart rotary motion to the film of water directly impinging on their sur- face as they revolve? Thus it would seem to be advisable to allow the ‘‘ tow ” to re- main as far away from the water put into motion by the screw as possible, as well as not to interfere with the wave of replace- ment as it advances on to the stern of the propelling vessel. With reference to the cost of towage the author may mention that the rule on these lakes is for the steamer to receive one-third of the freight due to the barge, but the McDougall barges are all being towed for one-fourth of their freight. Self-Trimmers. The author calls these vessels self-trim- mers, which name was given to certain steamers On the Tyne: and for this reason wing boards were fitted from the top sides, extending up to the deck and diagonally toward the center line of the vessels. Their province was to take away the vacant corner that is always left in an ordinary vessel, just at the junction of the top with the sides and deck; but the designer does not believe in vacant spaces at all, and so instead of hiding this corner, as it were, he takes the bold step of cutting the corner off altogether, thus enabling the cargo to fill the hold as full as an egg, and that without padding of any kind. Thus these vessels may truly be called self-trimmers. As regards collisions, if the object, when designing this bow, had been to produce the form of least destructive power, it could not have been accomplished better, for this is just the opposite of the ordinary upright stem or ‘‘ram” bow which so frequently does greater damage below than above the water line. Stanchness,. During one of the most severe gales we have had on the waters of the lakes, two 4 THE IRON AGE, of these whalebacks were on Lake Su- perior, making good weather, considering all things; for so fierce was the gale and so heavy the sea, that a new schooner, in good trim, foundered in sight of the whale- backs, while the latter are here now, hav- ing weathered the storm without damage or danger. As regards our steel lake steamers, they are quite fit to encounter with safety an Atlantic storm as they are ordinarily loaded on these lakes, but if they ever. come to be loaded down, like ‘‘three-deck ” tramp steamers, it will, I January 7, 1892 stresses due to greater length in proportion to depth. 5. Hold bulkheads to be made stronger generally and stiffened as may be required to resist the hydrostatic pressure. The bulkhead to be more efficiently connected to the shell of the vessel than generally obtains; also an improved system of bulkheading is advisable, with a view to avert sudden disaster after violent col- lision. 6. A more efficient system of bilge and ballast pump, suction pipes and valves is that power, or about 4 horse-power per ton, or 8000 tons 8 knots an hour with 1000 horse-power. At 7} knots the figure for power becomes about 600 horse-power, or a little better than is here reported for the Colby when towing ‘‘nearly 8 miles an hour” (74 knots), and better than the Sitka is reported to have done. The self-trimming construction of these boats is a good illustration of the advan- tage which comes of the freedom gained by the naval architect, when he may de- sign for a single and specifically charac- believe, be found that their deck-houses, companions, skylights and hatches are quite unequal to withstand the seas of the North Atlantic. No fewer than 41 British steamers were lost during the one disas- trous month of December, 1872, the most serious losses occurring to low powered grain laden vessels in the North Atlantic. The Teutonic, with a bow 382 feet out of water, is none too good to face a severe storm in that ocean. Now, a word about the construction of these peculiar vessels. The author, from a careful examination, would say that he has never seen better work. He would particularly notice the ballast tanks, which are most carefully planned and con- structed throughout and among the best he has seen in America. This is saying a good deal, for the most important feature in a steamer next to the bottom itself is the double bottom arrangement. As regards their stanchness he would relate some facts which appear very credit- able. Four of them each loaded cargoes of wheat on their first voyage and de- livered the whole freight, after carrying it over 1000 miles of stormy water, with- out the slightest damage. It is an un- common thing to find any steel vessel per- fectly water-tight on her first voyage, but here we have a fleet of four vessels which did not leak a drop from the beginning to the end of their first voyage. The de- signer may be justly proud of this achieve ment. Rolling Qualities, Let us examine the question of their rolling qualities. The fault with our broad lake steamers is that they have too much stability of form. This is brought about by the center of buoyancy moving out from the center too rapidly and too much as the vessel heels over. The best way of counteracting this would be to cut off the upper corners of the gunwale, or rather to curve them in just as the Ameri- can steel barges are formed. This would cause them to roll much easier, or, in other words, make them better sea boats. As regards stability, it may be said that so long as the present maximum ratio of breadth to depth is maintained, there would seem to be little or no cause for anxiety about their stability even with a full cargo of grain, if fairly loaded. This isnota mere statement nor yet a deduction, for the Charles W. Wetmore has recently steamed across the Atlantic Ocean in ballast, without any cargo in the hold, and with over 600 tons weight of coals on her *tween deck beams, which are situated 16 feet above the keel. In conclusion, the following may be cited as among the desirable improve- ments in lake steamship construction, as being within the range of practical achievement during the next few years in this center of the world’s progress in mechanical science. Improvement in Construction, 1. Greater length and breadth are neces- sities in steamers, 2. Greater simplicity in design and con- struction are desirable. 3. Deeper water ballast tanks and bot- toms to be more carefully arranged to with- stand vertical longitudinal stress. 4. Top sides and upper works to be de- signed more particularly to resist increased desirable. 7. Uniformity in handling or turning steering wheels is a necessity if collisions are not to increase. Stockless anchors to stow in the hause pipes would save labor. Shorter stroke in engines and fewer tubes in boilers would give increased efficiency. Improved rules for the construction of steel vessels and a proper system of in- spection are necessities if marine insur- ance is to continue a possibility with the insured and the insurer, for the shipowner pays for the losses in the long run, the underwriter’s business being a commission on the amount of loss paid, and the greater the amount of loss in the long run, the greater would be his commission on the loss. Professor Thurston's Views, The new departure in ship construction referred to in the paper of Mr. Oldham is one of exceptional interest, but I think that it involves no new principles and de- velops no previously unfamiliar facts in the department of naval architecture and ma- rine engineering. The experiment now being tried on so large and satisfactory a scale simply illustrates the general princi- ple that in marine engineering, when prompt delivery of freight is not impor- tant, the costs of transportation are made least by adopting a low speec. That this principle has a limit is probably very true, but this limit is found at some extremely moderate speed. When it is remembered that the power demanded to impel any vessel at speeds for which its form is well adapted varies as the cube of the speed, and that the cost in steam for work so done varies between the two termini of a given route as the square of the speed, and in- versely as the square of the time of tran- sit, it becomes obvious that high speeds are enormously costly, and that low speeds are correspondingly economical. Again, the modern steamship, as commonly built, is adapted for the best service in mixed traffic. It must be equally satisfactory as a conveyor of passengers and of freight, and its freight may be either the so-called ‘* fast freight,” which can be assessed heavily for costs of transportation, or the freights of iron, steel, grain and cotton, which may just as well be transported at low speeds and delivered a comparatively long time after shipment. Such a vessel is adapted especially to neither one nor another of these diverse and contradictory purposes; and it consequently and natu- rally can do neither kind of work to best advantage and with maximum economy and profit to its owner. Build the ship for a single trade, and it becomes at once possible to attain previously unexampled economy. Thus the fast steamers in the transat- lantic trade should be made passenger and express freight boats simply, and the McDougall steamer illustrates the same a precisely, in being constructed in such manner as to be well fitted for ex- actly the reverse case, heavy freights at low velocities. Taking the speed of the former as 20 knots, its tonnage at its load displacement as 10,000 and its power as 2 horse-power per ton at its average speed, the same tonnage, in any hull equally well shaped for the lower speed, could be driven at 8 knots by about one-sixteenth tion and early part of the century is readily carried teristie work. The.ordinary case is one in which decks for passengers and work- ing decks for the men must be pro- vided. Here, discarding sail-power, the ‘“‘tumble home” of the old Constitu- her contemporaries of the further, and far enough to permit this self-stowage of the grain which is ex- pected to be the common freight of these vessels. The design seems to me to be an admirable illustration of a courageous and sensible working out of a specified prob- lem, unhampered by custom or conven- tion. seaworthiness, as claimed by the writer of the paper, and as does anything which This form of section also promotes permits the sea to pass over and by the ship, instead of breaking against her sides or on her decks. I was once for a year on duty on our largest and heaviest ‘* moni- tor ’ ironclad, built during our Civil War, and I never spent a more comfortable year when at sea (and I have been in all kinds of ships, month in and month out, at all seasons on our Atlantic coast and else- where) than on the old Dictator monitor. I have known a claret bottle to stand by the hour (empty) on the messroom table when a gale of wind was blowing over- head, the seas sweeping where they chose, but never causing noticeable rolling. this ship there is, I presume, as there should be, some passage below decks, fore In and aft, for stormy weather, and below decks I should expect it to be, as claimed, thoroughly comfortable in the heaviest weather, and should anticipate, as a com- mon result of the same formation of hull, impunity, so far as the ship is concerned, in passing through the heaviest gales. This point is, to my mind, certainly a good one, and a most important one. I like also the double bottom and water- ballast arrangement. I have experienced its good qualities in earlier years at sea, and am confident that it will prove satis- factory, if properly constructed and handled. The seven conclusions with which the paper concludes seem to me to be thor- oughly correct, and a most excellent state- ment of essential principles in this class of construction, and, in the main, for naval construction generally. The advantages which the oval section and ellipsoidal form of these vessels offer in providing op- portunity for strengthening the upper line of the beam—for the ship is to be consid- ered a beam subject to all sorts of vertical, transverse and longitudinal stresses as well—are well worth considering, as is their advantage in simplicity of construc- tion, small cost and supertices, with large capacity aud minimum skin resistance. The one th'ng remarkable in this case seeras to me to be the fact that shipowners and a naval architect have been found having a sufficient independence and orig- inality to work together in the solution of a simple obvious problem, unhampered by either precedent or apprehension of crit- icism, professional or unprofessional. I was attracted by the original designs of Captain McDougall years ago, when he was endeavoring to introduce his fast ship with its singular section, and have been glad to see that he has taken up a more promising line of commercial work, and with such prompt success. As lake freight steamers, I imagine they will be found ad- January 7, 1892 mirably suited for their work, and I shall not be surprised if they ultimately find permanent place in the transatlantic trans- portation of slow, heavy freight. I would congratulate the captain and his friends on the success thus far attained. Criticism by C. H. Haswell. This paper is rendered interesting by the recital and some of the results fur- nished, and if I entertain the claims of the writer correctly, he advances several claims to superiority of this new type of vessel. Also, that this type, which is des- ignated as ‘*‘ whaleback,” affords ‘* extra ordinary speed,” together with ‘ large capacity and enormous dead-weight abil- ity,” and that the speed of one of them is claimed as ‘‘somewhat phenomenal.” Further, that they are exceedingly stanch, tow with ease and small consumption of fuel, roll easily, and that their stem is of un outline to produce the least possible destruction in the event of a collision. Now, in order to consider or coneur in these very desirable qualities, one properly looks to discover the particular elements and features whereby their attainment, so boldly asserted, is supported, and to pre- sent this subject to those who are not familiar with this peculiar construction or type of vessel, I submit: In outline its submerged portion approximates to that of a semi-elliptic spindle, while the upper portion or freeboard has ‘‘ tumbled-in ” sides, with a curved flush deck and quadri- circular junction to the sides of the hull, with light iron stanchions and wire rope or rods around the sides in place of a heavy rail and close bulwWarks, without spars and rigging. As regards their al- leged speed, there is not a single element furnished showing whereby greater effect is attained than there would be in a hull of the ordinary form, with like or equal areas of section, ease of lines and propor- tional power. As to capacity and dead-weight abil- ity, I fail to recognize how such a type of hull furnishes greater capacity, either for bulky cargo or dead weight. Quadri-circular top sides not,only do not present a single advantage, but in loading with light freight the space Jost by such conformation of sides is lost to stowage. Neither is it shown how they furnish ca- pacity in excess of any other vessel of the usual proportions and constructed of like materials, neither does any such ad- vantage as it is claimed exist, as equal volumes give equal capacity and like weights like displacement. Stanchness, which is also claimed for them, is dependent upon the proportionate dimensions of a hull and the integrity of its construction, and as this quality is at- tained in the very greatest number of ves- sels of ordinary design, I equally fail to recognize the justice of the especial claim submitted by the writer for this type over that of other unrigged vessels. Concerning their navigation, it is also claimed that the absence of the ordinary topgallant forecastle, deckhouses and like constructions on the spar deck enables them to offer less resistance to wind and seas, and as a result their operation is more effective. On the other hand, I ad- vance that the flush deck, protected only by an open iron or wire rail, renders manual operations on deck in stormy weather wholly impracticable, and that erecting the wheelroom, cabin, berthing, galley and all deck requirements upon columns several feet above the spar deck presents more effective resistance to the wind than the deck constructions of our ordinary freighting steamers, added to which the tacility atforded to the boarding of seas and the retardation occasioned by their impact more than offsets the advan- tage claimed. Inasmuch as there are not any elements given why they should tow with great ease —<<———<$—_—$$— LL i - THE IRON AGE. and with greater economical consumption | of fuel than other vessels, I am at a loss to consent to an operation that bears upon its face a negation of the axiom that like causes produce like effects. As the form of stem of a vessel is arbitrary with the designer, and as in practice it is presented in every practical outline, I am further at a loss to recognize any individual claim to the outline given or any advantage in a form of bow not water borne for a long distance, and hence subjected to the stress of the weight of anchors and chains upon it in a pitching sea. Regarding their rolling qualities and stability, both of these operations depend upon form of immersed section of hull and location of center of gravity of the mass, and the conformation of one and the loca- tion of the other cannot be essentially af- fected by cutting off the upper corner of the gunwale. If the Charles W. Wetmore in her late voyage across the Atlantic in ballast had not had stowed the 600 tons of coal between decks she would. have rolled and lurched to a degree that would have rendered her crew much pleased to make a port, hence that which is claimed as a merit was indispensable to safety of the vessel. In conclusion, a review of all the ele- ments submitted and claims advanced does not present or substantiate in any one in- stance an advantage over that of an ordi- nary and well-constructed freighting steamer of like displacement and power, and alike without spars or rig, subject to the question if such absence of spars is at all practicable with the requirements of safety of the vessel and crew. Oldham’s Reply. Allow me to say in reply to Charles H. Haswell that the form of the whale- back’s bow is such that about 700 feet of surface is saved by cutting away the dead wood or fore foot, and this with but slight reduction in dead weight ability, and thus on the skin friction theory of resistance the whaleback should steam as fast as a steamer of the same dead weight ability with about 5 per cent. less propelling power. Again, her extremely narrow stern may increase the speed coefficient, and the unincumbered decks will do so in a head wind. Like weights certainly do give like displacements, but like displace- ments do not always give like dead weight ability. These vessels up to the present time are of similar proportionate dimensions to the ordinary lake steamer, which admittedly and unavoidably has excessive breadth of beam, giving them too much stability of form. The bold ‘‘ tumble home” in the whalebacks reduces the length of the righting lever to a desirableextent, and thus lessens the shock at large angles of incli- nation. The rolling qualities of ships are most certainly directly and severely af- fected by other portions of hull than the immersed section when upright. ——$_—_—$— rr The new Spanish tariff relieves the pres- ent burdens on railroad rails and upon other railroad material. The tariff further con- tains only one column of duties for nations without treaties of commerce with Spain, and makes concessions upon those duties to nations disposed to make reciprocity treaties with Spain, such treaties to in- clude the most favored nation clause. The export duty on iron ore will not exceed 25 centimes per ton. The new tariff was published on January 1. Steam was gotten up on the ironclad Miantonomoh at the Brooklyn Navy Yard for the purpose of testing the starboard engines, the port ones having been previ- ously tested. These engines were built by the Roaches in 1882, and as they have been idle since that time the officers were 5 oor LL uncertain about their efficiency. What- ever doubts the officers may have had as to the engines and boilers were well founded, for scarcely had steam reached tke 80- pound point when there was an explosion. The gasket—a rubber ring inside of the manhole plate—had blown out of one of the boilers, and the fireroom was filled with live steam of the sort that scalds. Fortunately, the men in the fireroom were in afar corner when the gasket blew out, so that they escaped with their lives, but two of them were severely burned. A hose having been run into the furnaces, the fires were extinguished until a new gasket could be fitted. | I Transportation of Ships. One of the engineers of the Chiqueto Ship Marine Railway, H. G. C. Ketchum, at the invitation of the Canadian Society of Civil Engineers, read an interesting paper last week in Montreal, in part de- scriptive of the present state of that im- portant work. Up to the time of suspen- sion, the engineer’s certificates for work done and materials furnished by the con- tractor amounted to about- $3,355,000. From a careful estimate, the cost to finish the works, to equip with rolling stock, and to provide for further engineering and administrative expenses is covered by $1,500,000. The whole works may be said to be three-fourths done, and it would take but one summer season’s work to en- tirely finish the ship railway and docks fit for opening to the public. The principal excavation yet .o be done is that for the entrance channels at each end of the line, which have been commenced and are con- siderably advanced, but cannot be entirely finished until the hydraulic machinery for lifting the vessels is erected. All the hy- draulic machinery, the rails. sleepers and permanent way materials have been de- livered. The whole of the line of railway ha; been graded, with the exception of about a mile of broken work. Twelve miles of track have been laid, and the greater part of the bottom has been bal- lasted with broken stone. The costly work remaining to be done is the masonry and gate of the basin at the Bay of Fundy end of the line, and the masonry of the two lifting docks. The buildings containing the hydraulic pumping machinery have been nearly finished and the machinery in them erected. The ships’ cradles, manu- factured of steel, and the locomotives, are nearly ready for delivery. The moles pro- tecting the basin of Northumberland Straits have been entirely finished and ac- cepted. The firm of Easton & Anderson, who undertook the supply and erection of hydraulic machinery, as well as the traversers for shunting vessels, have agreed for a specified sum to work and maintain this machinery in good order for one year from the date of the opening of the line, the company being required to provide the coal. The size of vessel provided for is 1000 tons register; the maximum length would be 235 feet, breadth 56 feet, draft 15 feet with a displacement of 2000 tons Accommodation space for six vessels of this size has been provided in the basin at each terminus of the ship railway. This is the only instance in the history of Canada where a wet dock and harbor basins and dredged entrance channels have been provided at the expense of a private company. The cost to the company of these entrance channels, dock gates sea walls, basins and moles will be, when fin- ished, about $1,000,000, exclusive of the hydraulic lifts. ee Locomotive Engineering appears in a new form. It is edited by Angus Sinclair, formerly of the Car Builder, and John A. Hill of the old paper, who have become its proprietors. THE IRON AGE, January 7, 1892 STEAM BOILERS.* BY JOHN J. HOGAN, (Continued from page 1165.) The water-tube boiler is a type of boiler different to the vertical water-tube boiler, and forms the most important class of these boilers. The demand for them is increasing, and their manufacturers are numerous in the United States and Europe. The form of inclined tubes) which this class of boiler, Fig. 43, took some 20 years ago has been retained. Only changes of details of quality and | methods of construction form the princi- pal differences between the various makes. The manner of circulating the water is the of shell boilers the question of circulation was of little importance. It is possible that this evident disregard for circulation in the shell boilers led the designers of the water-tube boilers into the error of at first slighting the laws of circulation. Imperfect circulation in boilers with large bodies of water is almost general. The consequences are waste of fuel and of material to strengthen the parts which are subjected to excessive strains from irregu- lar expansion. In water-tube boilers the effect of the heat is concentrated on small bodies of water which are rapidly con- verted into steam. To meet this result rapid and definite circulation has to be provided, since the steam must be displaced by water as quickly as it is produced. If the exit passage for this steam is ob- structed, pressure is the result, and the Fig. 45.—Circulation in Vertical and Horizontal Tubes. same in all of them. There is another class of boiler, known as the ‘‘ water-pipe boiler.” The tirst difference between this boiler and the inclined water-tube boiler is in the size of the pipes, which are gen- erally smaller than in the water-pipe boiler. The arrangement of pipes is various and intricate, inclined and vertical, bent and curved, circuitous in every possible way, so that to trace the course of circulation would be a difficult task. It is not im- probable that in designing some of these boilers the subject of circulation was not considered. Circulation Disregarded. When the inclined water-tube boilers were first practically introduced, the want of preper provisions for the circulation of water caused some breakages and acci- dents. It has been seen that in the design *Copyrighted, 1891, by David Williams, New York. Fig. 46. Circulation in Vertical STEAM BOILERS. column of water which should displace the steam is not heavy enough to displace the steam and at the same time force it through the obstruction. Obstructions to Circulation. The causes of these obstructions may thus be summarized: 1, The presence of a com- paratively motionless body of superincum- bent water of relatively lower temperature than the steam produced, 2. The increase of temperature of the displacing column of water to nearly the same temperature as the steam, thus relatively reducing its weight. 3. Indefinite ways for the passage of the steam to the surface of the water and for the incoming water to displace the steam. 4, Tortuous passages having either too large areas, by which currents of relatively low temperature are maintained, or with too small areas, in which a frictional re- sistance is opposed to the free passage of the steam produced. The consideration of the subject of circulation with the as- sistance of a few diagrams is desirable, Diagram Fig. 44 represents a vessel to the bottom of which is connected a bent tube, The water is shown above the bottom of the vessel, covering the openings to the tube. In this diagram the first principles of cir- culation are shown. When the heat is applied at A the column of water at A D is heated, expands and is lighter than the column CE. The water, therefore, in C E descends, and, on account of its rela- tive weight, displaces the water in A D, The heated water passes to the surface of the water in the vessel, and the water of a relatively lower temperature continues to pass down EC until all the water is heated, Perfect Circulation, When the heat is applied at A the ssidbiad Fig. 44.—Circulation in Vertical and Horizontal Tubes, . Fig. 47. and Inclined Tubes. circulation may be said to be perfect, so long as the temperature in E C is rela- tively less thanin ED, The temperature at A may be increased indefinitely and the water from E C will displace the heated water or steam in A D, provided the tem- perature of C E does not equal the tem- perature in A D. The application of heat at B produces less definite circulation, be- cause if a high temperature is produced at B the temperatures in A D and C E may become equal and circulation will stop. By the addition of the tube BF in Fig. 45 circulation is secured down E C and up B F when the heat is applied at B. The circulation in the tube A D is, however, doubtful. If a high tempera- ture is continued at B the water in E C may be only sufficient to displace the heated water in B F and the temperature between B and A will be too high to per - mit a downward currentinD A. Another manner of securing circulation is shown January 7, 1892 THE IRON AGE, 7 TT ES in Fig. 46. The inclination of the tube A BO prevents the heated currents at B from going toward C, as they will natur- ally ascend to AD. If the temperature at Bis continued and increased it is possible that steam may be formed more quickly than it can be displaced by water from E C, as the inclination of the tube A BC may not be sufficient to give a free vertical ascent. The application of heat at A, Fig. 46, and arrangements to secure at all times a relatively lower temperature in E C than in A D is probably one of the best forms to secure circulation. In Fig. 47 a vertical ascent is shown over B, where the heat is applied. Displacement, The inclination up to A D tends to secure a displacement of the heated water in A Das in BF, provided E C is large enough to admit the water required for displacement in the two columns B F and A D. The diagram Fig. 48 shows Fig. 48. F when the fire is applied at B. The tem- perature at B is relatively greater than at G and H, and column E C displaces the lighter body at B because it presents less resistance than the heavier bodies at Gand H. The temperature at F will be relatively higher than at G and H. The circulation in D A _ will be slow and downward. Fig. 50 is a design in which the circulation will be uncertain when the heat is applied at B. In Fig. 51, with heat applied at B, the circulation will be continuous up B F and down E C and DA. Fig. 52 shows an outline of the in- clined-tube boiler at an exaggerated angle. When heat is applied at B the circulation is toward A and D, with partial descend- ing currents through G and H. The as- cending currents are moved at two angles instead of one, as shown in preceding diagrams. The displacing or descending currents pass down an inclined plane in place of a vertical passage, thus reducing the velocity of their descent by friction. Fig. 40. Circulation in Vertical and Inclined Tubes. be avewalbaiighia Fig. 51.—Circulation in Vertical and Horizontal Tubes. three inclined tubés with the heat applied | at B and affecting the tubes G and H above. If the water in H is displaced into | the column of water A D at a higher tem- | perature than the water from G, and the| water from G at a higher temperature than the water from A BC, while E C remains at a relatively lower temperature than A D, the circulation will be good. Such con- ditions, however, are not attained in practice. Tne concentration of heat at B will be more liable to produce steam than if concentrated at the same point, as shown in Fig. 46, with one inclined tube. The heat in G and H being rela