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

MARINE REVIEKEW. 11 Treasury Department Records of Ship Building. The following statement from the United States commissioner of navigation shows that during the quarter year ended Dec. 31, 1895, there were builtin the United States 128 vessels of 29,335.73 gross tons. Seventy-three of these were sailing vessels and fifty-five steam vessels. The sailing vessels aggregated 9,609.69 gross tons and the steam vessels 19,726.04 gross tons. Fifteen of the steam vessels, aggregating 11,441.98 tons, were built of steel. Nosteel sailing vessels were built during the quarter. SAILING AND STEAM VESSELS BUILT IN THE UNITED STATES AND OFFICI- ALLY NUMBERED. AS SHOWN BY THE RECORDS OF THE BEREAU OF NAVIGATION, TREASURY DEPARTMENT, DURING THE QUARTER ENDED DEC. 31, 1895. | WOOD. = TOTAL. SAIL & STEAM STERL. | SAIL STEAM STEAM * No.| Gross Tons No. Gross Tons No. Gross Tons||No.| Gross Tons Atlantic & Gulf coast}! 59 7,4 8.76 12 2,842 85 10 5,996.66 8L | 16,298.27 Pacific coast 12 2,088.84 i 496.05 1 691.05 20 3,275 94 Great Lakes 2 62.09 3 2,091.83 4 4,754.27 9 6,908.19 Western Rivers ane ee te, 18 2,853.33 ehh Pe ee ee 18 2,853.33 Total, 73 9,609.69 40 8,284.06 || 15} 11,441.98 |/128 | 29,335.73 *No steel sail vessels built during the quarter. During the previous quarter 200 vessels of 59,054 89 gross tons were built, and of these 108 were sailing vessels and ninety-two steam vessels, The tonnage of the sailing vessels was 20,166.78 gross, and that of the | steam vessels 38,888.11 gross. Plans for a big Naval Reserve Force. Representative Amos J. Cummings of New York has a big scheme to provide naval reserve forces from officers and men on merchant vessels of the United States. Mr. Cummings' plans are combined ina bill, H. R. 2,563, which he introduced a few days ago, and which was referred to the committee on naval affairs of which he is the senior democratic mem- ber. The bill is as follows: Sec. 1. That officers and men between the ages of eighteen and forty-five, serving in the mercantile marine of the United States, as well as also all ex-officers and formerly enlisted men of the navy, and who are citizens of the United States, who shall so elect, and who shalj be found physically and professionally qualified by a board of naval officers appointed by the secretary of the navy, shall be enrolled in a naval reserve for navigating duties, for periods not exceeding five years, in grades and ratings for which they may be found qualifred, and which shall be established by the president, coresponding to grades and ratings existing in the navy; provided, that such officers and men shall be held to be in the United States service during such periods of enrollment and may be called into active service in time of actual war, or when the danger of war is imminent, and shall obey such call under the pains and penalties of desertion; and provided further, that the officers and men of the life saving service, the light house service, the revenue marine and the coast signal service may be enrolled in the naval reserves and may be assigned to such duties and receive such annual instruction in naval warfare as the president may prescribe. SEc. 2. That each officer and man of the navigating naval reserves shall be required to report in person once each year to such naval authori- ty as the secretary of the navy may select for training, not exceeding thirty days in any one year, and shall satisfy such inquiries and examina- tions prescribed by the navy department as may be necessary to ascertain his continued fitness for duty; and upon the completion of this annual requirement each petty officer shall receive $30 and each man of inferior rating $20; that no annual premium shall be paid, except when this re- port in person is made, and that if the examination shows unfitness for duty in the grade or rating held by any navigating naval reserve officer or man he shall be at once discharged from the service without this com- pensation. SEc. 3. That the navigating naval reserves shall not be called into active service in time of peace except for purposes of training, but such officers and men of this branch as may elect to join the colors for naval training during the period of annual drill of the organized reserve forces shall be mustered into the naval service of the United States for that period, and when in such active service receive the same pay and . allowances as the organized reserve forces. Skc. 4. That any vessel commanded by an officer of the naval re- serves, and which shall have in her complement five other officers and men belonging to the naval reserves, shall have the right to fly from her mainmast head a distinctive flag or pennant with the letters U. S.N.R,; provided, that the color, shape, and size of such flag or pennant shall be prescribed by the secretary of the navy and furnished by the navy de- partment. Skc. 5. That all officers of the naval reserves holding commissions from the United States shall be borne pean the naval register as naval reserves. SEC. 6. That the entire organization, administration, compensation, training, and control of the naval reserve forces exercised by the govern- ment of the United States shall be under the direction of the president and be confided to the department of the navy, and the secretary of the navy is hereby authorized to detail officers and petty officers of the navy to act as inspectors, instructors, and assistant instructors of the naval reserve, and to be the responsible custodians of the property of the United States issued for the training and arming of the said forces. SEc.7. That the sum of $100,000, or so much thereof as may be re- quired, is hereby appropriated for carrying into operation this act, and the same shall constitute a continuous annual appropriation, payable out of any moneys in the treasury not otherwise appropriated, for the pur- pose of inaugurating and continuing the operation of the naval reserve of men contemplated by this act, the same to be expended under the direction of the secretary of the navy. Illustrated Patent Record. SELECTED ABSTRACTS OF SPECIFICATIONS OF A MARINE DUE eek one LATEST PATENT OFFICK REPORTS. 552,113. Topsail yard for Sailing-vessels. James Frye, Pilg elie, Pa. Filed Apr. 25, 1895. Serial No. 547,095. Claim in a topsail yard the combination of the parts D' and D?, a por- tion C to which said parts are hinged, braces B and B' hinged to and supporting said portion C, a draw bolt E to reinforce said parts D' and D? and means for operating said drawbolt. 652.118. TOPSAIL-YARD FOR SAILING- VESSELS. © ---- eed Sa a 552,248. Life Boat. Algernon lL. Hassard-Short, Tarborough, N. C. Filed July 23, 1895. Serial No, 556,920. Claim the combination with a life boat, of a frame which is elliptical in form and pointed at each end, and which surrounds said boat, and is supported at a distance therefrom, by means of strips which are connect- ed therewith, and which are passed beneath the boat and through the keel thereof, and by rods which are connected with the boat, said frame being provided with a central core with which said strips and rods are connected, and said frame being filled in with light material, such as cork or similiar substances. 552,437. Folding Boat. Frederick Heather, Yonkers, N. Y. Filed July 31,1895, Serial. No. 557,716. Claim in a folding-boat, the combination with a removable flexible covering, of a framework consisting of sections to form the sides, sec- tions to form the bow, and a section to form the stern, the several sec- tions being connected to each other at their meeting edges, and a bottom section which is hinged to one of the side sections Thomas Drein & Son's metallic boat manufactory at Wilmington, Del., was destroyed by fire last week and the loss amounted to about $10,000. The firm has leased a place near by and have commenced already to build boats and rafts to fill next season's orders. In view of the delay caused by the fire, lake ship builders ought to place their orders at once for spring delivery. The burnt building will be rebuilt at once,