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: MARINE REVIEW. 13 An Improved Winch. A winch that is said to be especially designed for use on shipboard in hauling braces, halyards, etc., as it may be attached tothe railing, bulwark, or mast, or other convenient support, is illustrated herewith. It is the invention of Henry Ekrem of San Pedro, Cal., and is said by naval officers, who have examined it, to contain features of special ad- vantages. In the back plate is acentral interior chamber, and on its front face are top and bottom horizontal arms in whose outer ends are bolt cavities, the outer ends of the bolts being bent to form hook arms. The drum or birrel is toothed centrally on its inner surface, and around the central shaft, journaled in the back plate, are four stationary shafts, screwed or otherwise firmly secured at their rear ends in the back plate. On these shafts are collars atthe rear side of the teeth on the central inner surface of the drum, and onthe collars rests a rear guide plate having openings to receive all the shafts, as shown in Fig. 2, there being a similar front guide plate, and adjustable sleeves being fitted to all the shafts to engage the outer face of the forward guide plate. The central shaft has a pinion adapted to engage pinions loosely mounted on the stationary shafts, the latter pinions engaging the teeth on the inner face of the drum, to impart arotary motion thereto. The guide plates, with the collars and sleeves, prevent end movement of the shafts, and the front plate is held in position by top and bottom yokes or links, the plate being readily removable by turning the hook ends of the bolts. The central shaftis prevented from unwinding by a ratchet wheel en- gaged by a gravity pawl in the chamber in the back plate, as indicated by the dotted lines. The winch may be readily taken apart and put together again without difficulty. The engraving is from the Scientific American. Lynn's marine reporting agency at Port Huron has been awarded the contract for furnishing news during the coming season to the Lake Marine News Association, the organization which collects and distributes all marine news for daily papers and for the service which the MARINE REVIEW renders in Cleveland to vessel owners. Masters will therefore serve their owners and all other interests if they will give to Lynn's reporters on the river any information that they may have. Two long, two short and one long whistle will call a reporter. Lynn has secured from Capt. Geo. Simpson a megaphone (speaking trumpet) and it will be used in communicating with passing vessels. An idea of the great consumption of fuel attending the trials of the 30-knot torpedo boat chasers that are being built in England and France may be gained from official accounts of these trials. While maintaining a speed of 30.029 knots on an hour's run, the Forban, fastest of the French torpedo boats burned 5,940 pounds of coal. The same vessel, during a run of eight hours' duration, at 14 knots speed, consumed only 423 pounds of coal. Three runs were made with this vessel on the measured mile in order to determine the relation between the speed of the ship and the revolutions of the screw, so as to accurately deduce the speed from the total number of revolutions on an hour's run. This latter run was, of course, at féfll power, and the speed maintained was, as noted, an average of 31.029 knots. The Forban is 144 feet 4 inches between perpendiculars, 14 feet 6 inches maximum breadth on load line, 15 feet 2 inches extreme breadth and 10 feet depth. Her displacement on trial was 125 tons; fully laden it is 186 tons. The machinery consists of two triple expansion engines driving twin screws, and steam is supplied from two Normand water tube boilers. "Ye Lake Engineer on Watch." Everybody knows of the dislike that engineers'on the lakes entertain for steamers that have engines placed deep in the after hold. The Marine Engineers' Beneficial Association of Cleveland, No. 2, has just issued a book which contains names of officers, a directory of members, ete. A few pages of selected reading matter are also included in the book, and on one of these pages it is noted that Zachary Boyd, an eminent Scottish divine, was born before 1590. Then as a specimen of his homely style, the follow- ing extract from Jonah's soliloquy within the whale's belly is quoted and called " Ye Lake Engineer on Watch:"' What house is this where's neither coal nor candle, Where I nothing but guts of fishes handle? I and my table are both here within, Where day neere dawned, where sunne did never shine; The like of this on earth man never saw, A living man within a monster's maw, Burried under mountains which are high and steep, Plunged under waters hundreth fathoms deep, Not so was Noah in his house of tree, For through a window he the light did see; He sailed above the highest waves--a wonder; I and my boat are all the waters under; Hee in his arke might goe and also come, But I sit still in such a straightened roome As is most uncouthe, head and feet together, Among such grease as would a thousand smother. I find no way now for my shrinking hence, But heere to lie, and die for mine offense. Eight prisoners were in Noah's bulk together; Comfortable they were, each one to other. In all the earth like unto me is none, Far from all living, I heere lye alone. Trade Notes. A metal polish that will clean any kind of metal, hot or cold, in half the time usually required, would be a boon to the engineer force of lake steamers. These qualities are claimed for the Royal metal polish, pre- pared by the Columbia Mfg. Co., No. 94 H»lmden avenue, Cleveland, and sold by John Thomson, River street, Cleveland. Engineers' supply stores - will find the manufacturers ready to make favorable terms to agencies. The Buffalo Forge Co., Buffalo, N. Y., is building the special blowers with compound engines required for torpedo boats Nos. 3,4 and 5, and also the Holland torpedo boat. The Columbia Iron Works, as is generally known, is building these vessels for the United States government. The Buffalo company is also building blowers and engines for revenue cutter No. 2, which is under construction at the Atlantic Iron Works, Boston, Mass. H. C. Doman, proprietor of the Union Iron Works, Oshkosh, Wis., writes as follows to Alex C. Bates, agent for the Empire boiler treatment: " After using your compound one month, I opened the boiler and cleaned out the dirt; then I letit go for one month longer and again cleaned it out, removing scales 3 to4 feet long and about three-eights of an inch thick. The boiler is now just as clean as it was when made. I am highly pleased with your compound and shall recommend it to any one having use for it." The Roberts Safety Water Tube Boiler Co., 39 and 41 Cortlandt street, New York, frequently has application from vessel owners for marine en- gineers. Engineers who have had experience with Roberts boilers will do well to send that company their names, addresses and references, to- gether with a statement of what vessels they have had charge of and the tonnage of their certificate. All this information will be enteredin a book and kept for the purpose, and a full page devoted to each applicant so that changes of address can be noted, etc. Beck's patent steam stearing gear, manufactured in Milwaukee, seems to be meeting with special favor among lake vessel owners as its merits become known. Within the past thirty days gears of this type have been shipped to M. A. Bradley of Cleveland, to the Hausler & Lutz Towing Co. of South Chicago for their new tug, to the steamer Sachem in Chicago and to Wm. H. Hillof Erie. Upto this time these gears have been designed with special attention to placing them in the pilot house, but the manufacturers are now at work on drawings of a larger gear, which will be placed below deck and will be ready for sale in the fall. Pawling & Harnischfeger, 156 to 168 Clinton street, Milwaukee, are the manufacturers. It is claimed that these gears can be instantly changed from steam to hand without taking hands off the wheel. The controlling rig runs in oil and is entirely free from wear and play, and it is said to be always in its right position, no matter when or where the gear is changed from steam to hand or back again. The gear may be turned indefinitely in one direction or the other, as long as steam is able to turn the engines, and when steering by hand the controller is cut out entirely and is completely out of use.