The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

MARINE REVIEW. me j gradually increasing in thickness near its front end; a conning tower F mounted on the deck of the vessel in rear of the forward auxiliary armor and protected by the same, and another conning tower G in advance of the rear auxiliary armor and protected by the same, substantially as described. Second --An improved war vessel, consisting of a hull, substantially as described; an auxil- jary armor I) around the bow of the vessel and gradually increas- ing in thickness toward its rear end, an auxiliary armor E around the stern of the vessel and gradually increasing in thickness near -- its front end; the conning tower F mounted on the deck of the vessel in the rear of the forward auxiliary armor and protected by the same; another conning tower G in advance of the' rear auxiliary armor and protected by the same, and a hollow mast P midway between said conning towers F and G, extending up from the deck and carrying a crow's nest Q, substantially as described. Third--An improved war vessel consisting of a hull, substantially as described, an auxiliary armor D around the bow of the vessel and gradually increasing in thickness near its rear end; an auxiliary aimor EK around the stern of the vessel and gradually increasing in thickness near its front end, a conning tower F mounted on the deck of the vessel in the rear of the for- ward auxiliary armor and protected by the same,another conning _ tower G in advance of the rear auxiliary armor and protected by - the same, a gun M mounted within the vessel on the track K and adapted to be fired out of the bow, and a gun N mounted within the vessel on the track K and adapted to be fired out of the stern, substantially as described. A Valuable Paper on the Canal Question. Among the most interesting papers as yet written on the subject of a waterway from the lakes to tide water and its effect upon transportation rates is that presented to the Water Com- merce Congress in Chicago, a few days ago, by George Y. Wis- _ ner of Detroit, a civil engineer who has given a great deal of study to canals in this country. Mr. Wister favors a radical enlargement of the Erie canal, or the construction of a new canal along practically the same route. 'Canada has expended $52,- 000,000," he says, "in constructing canals and $215,000,000 in cash and guarantees for railroads for the purpose of diverting American trade through Canadian ports, yet of the 390,000;000 bushels of grain received at the Atlantic ports of the United States and Canada in 1892, only 27,400,000 bushels including Canadian grain, was received at Montreal. The investigation made by the Senate committee of interstate commerce in 1889 shows that Canadian canals, with rebates making them practi- cally free for St. Lawrence rivez freights, have had but little ef- fect in diverting traffic from American ports. * * * It will not do to assume that Canada will soon become an integral part | of the United States, for such an event is so improbable that to delay the improvement of transportation routes, with the hope of thus being able to accomplish the purpose for less money, will cripple the commercial growth of the country far in excess of anything that can be saved; besides, the surest means of induc- _ ing Canada to come into the fold is to place our commerce in such an independent condition as to have no need of the natural ad- vantages she has to offer." Regarding the financial aspect of the subject, Mr. Wisner Says: "At the present rate of increase the receipts of grain at Atlantic ports would probably exceed 600,000,000 bushels an- ually before the canal could be completed. At least one-half ofthis amount would go direct by lake and canal, and the rate on the whole would be governed by that on the waterway. 'The average rate by lake and railroad for the past four years has been 8.5 cents per bushel, and allowing 1.5 cents for higher rate of Winter traffic, the net decrease would be at least four cents per ~~ bushel, or $24,000,000 for yearly shipments of grain, while that on merchandise and other freight would be fully as much more, Making a total of $48,000,000. If the work should be undertaken by the government, money could be obtained for the project at 3 per cent., at which rate the above annual decrease in cost of | transportation would be the interest on $1,600,000,000. 'The Canal can undoubtedly be constructed for less than $200,000,- 000, which at 4 per cent. for interest and maintenance would leave a net balance of $40,000,000 annually in favor of the project. The benefits to be derived should not, however, be measured by this amount, for the home prices of manufactures and agricultural products are those which they bring on foreign markets, less the cost of transportation; and consequently any decrease in the cost of the transportation adds a like amount to the value of all pro- ductions used for domestic consumption."' In General. Probably the largest contract for small pumps ever made in this country is that of Henry R. Worthington with the builders of the two new American Line ships. The order amounts to about $160,000. i Mrs. Lucy C. Carnegie of Pittsburg, sister-in-law of Andrew Carnegie, has given a contract to the Maryland Steel Company for a steel steam yacht. The yacht will be 1or feet on water line, 119 feet over all, 20 feet beam and 10 feet 3 inches depth of hold. The engine will be compound. 'The boat will be built for comfort. On 330 tons of coal a day, the horse power maintained in the steamers New York and Paris is about 18,000. The average coal consumption of boats like the New York, Paris and Majestic 'is about 1.75 pounds per hour per horse power. 'The Campania's engines are supposed to indicate about 30,000 horse power, and the consumption of coal is said to be 4co tons per day. 'These figures are not exact, of course, but in any case itis probable that the new Cunarder burns less coal per horse power per hour than any of the other greyhounds. The Marie Henrietta, a new paddle steamer, built at Hobo- ken, near Antwerp, for the Belgian government, and destined - for the Ostend-Dover service, is the fastest paddle steamer afloat. In four runs over the measured mile on the Clyde she maintained a mean speed of 22.2 knots. 'The steam pressure was 7.8 atmos- pheres and the revolutions fifty-three per minute. The mean . speed is fractionally better than that of a sister boat, Leopold II., built by Messrs. Denny of Dumbarton, so that the palm of speed for this type of boat has passed from the scientific Scotch yard to the continent. The builders get a premium of about $20,000. The Rappahannock, the first of the three large steamers which are building for the recently formed Chesapeake and Ohio Com- pany (Limited) of London, and which are to run in connection with the Chesapeake & Ohio railway, was launched a few days ago' by Messrs. A. Stephen & Sons of Lighthouse, England. -The vessel, which is to initiate a new cattle and general service between Newport News, London and Liverpool, is about 4,000 tons gross, 370 feet in length, 44 feet in breadth, and 31% feet in depth, and her deadweight carrying capacity is between 5,000 and 6,000 tons. She is fitted with engines of the triple-expansion type, the cylinders being 28, 46, and 75 inches diameter by 54- inch stroke. The keel sloop Colonia, one of the four American compet- itors for the honor of meeting the crack British yacht Valkyrie, has a new hollow boom which is quite a creation. It is really a barrel 97 feet 6 inches long by 22 inches diameter at the middle, tapering to 11 inches atthe ends. The skin isin two thicknesses, and there is, of course, nothing but the skin, except the moulds or bulkheads of thin stuff, spaced some 8 feet apart, on which it is built. She inside layer of the skin is of matched spruce, in long lengths, 144 inches thick, the joints laid in lime and cheese cement, and the planks screwed to the moulds. After this layer was on, the spar was rounded up, and the outer layer of 14% inch Oregon pine, also matched, was put on and screwed into the inner planking. Each of the outer planks is hollowed on the inside, and they break seams with the inner ones. It is expected to be very stiff and decidedly lighter than a solid stick. This boat is the result of the order of Archibald Rogers to the Herreshoffs to "build me the fastest yacht you can." - The Cleveland & Buffalo Transit Company announces that on Wednesday Sept. 6 a special cheap excursion will be run from Cleveland to Niagara Falls and Toronto. The round trip rate to the falls will be $3, allowing an entire day at Buffalo and the falls, and the round trip rate to Toronto $5, tickets good re- turning until Sept. 11, giving five days to visit the Industrial _ Fair. vy } ' 4