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contains 2,100 pounds of 'water at steaming level. 8 MARINE REVIEW. Steam Yacht Race--Enquirer.vs. Say When. Editor Marine Review :--I have been much interested in. the dis- cussion of the steam yacht race between the Enquirer and Say When, which was printed in your issue of Aug. 20, particularly in the dis- cussion of the subject by Mr. Ballin. apparently need explanation. In the first place, Mr. Ballin states that the weight of the Roberts boiler in the Say When is fourteen tons, whereas it weighed only 15,221 pounds when it left our works, and There is consid- erable difference between this weight and the eleven tons which Mr. Ballin says is the weight of the boiler in the, Enquirer. It is quite possible that the boiler in the Say When should: have been larger, but the Roberts boiler was built to suit the conditions and the space which it could occupy. Owing to the limited head-room allowable for the boiler, the Roberts boiler was built very low and thereby' lost con- siderable heating surface which might otherwise have been placed in it. The same cause prevents the boiler from: being raised as' high as it should be to allow ample admission of air under the grates, and the combustion has always been somewhat imperfect' for this 'reason. Roberts. boilers can be built with over 50 square feet of heating Sur-: face to 1 square' peu of eels surface if the conditions met edynit of it and require it. . 'vi . pens dee There is such a thing, howeneH, as ace too ° iit aster sur- face, as it undoubtedly adds to the weight without much ' greater ef: ficiency. . The proof of this statement isthe fact. that the recent well known experiments in England have shown that over 60 per cent of the evaporation ina water tube boiler is produced by the first two layers of tubes above the fire. Quantity of heating surface does not cover everything, as the arrangement of the heating surface is of at least as much importance. . This is proved by Roberts boilers showing a smoke-stack temperature of only 40 degrees in excess of the tempera- ture of the steam when they had only about 33 square feet of heating surface to 1 square foot of grate surface. The Say When. was orginally built for Mr. Norman L. Munro i the Herreshoff Manufacturing Co. under a guarantee of speed. This speed was not attained on the trial trip and Mr. Munro refused to accept the yacht. She was eventually purchased by the Hon. W. J. White, and her Herreshoff boiler was replaced by a Roberts boiler of the same dimensions. Mr. White wrote us a letter congratulating us upon the change of the speed of the boat and stated that the Roberts boiler had changed the Say When "from a dismal failure to a com- plete success." We quote his own words. I congratulate Mr. Edward Gaskin, the talented superintendent of the Union Dry Dock Co., upon the success of the Enquirer and must say that it largely Beene upon her model. The Say When was never considered a speedy boat until after she had a Roberts boiler, and I only regret that the conditions were not such as to allow the placing in her of a boiler of sufficient size. Nevertheless, I have never heard that she was lacking in steam... This Roberts boiler is now five or six years old, and, in addition to the handicaps previously mentioned, the boiler undoubtedly has more or less scale in it from the lime water in the lakes, as this would be the case in any boiler which had been used for ant length of time with such water. This certainly did not, to say the least, increase its evaporative efficiency. In conclusion I would say that although the Enquirer won the race, os think that the Say When could have done so if the water had been a little smoother and better adapted to. her model and size, and although the Enquirer as a complete vessel was the victor, I think that, as far as boilers were concerned, the Roberts boiler eed itself to be the superior, as it furnished steam for a much larger engine, not- withstanding its comparatively small size and weight. In addition to this I would say that the quadruple engine in the Say When was one of the first quadruple engines built in this country, and I really be- lieve that the low pressure engine isa "drag" upon the rest of the machine, and that the boat would go faster if this part of the engine were detached. It will readily be seen also that, besides having a larger high pressure cylinder to fill with steam at each revolution, it has had to be filled with steam at a greater density, owing to the fact that it is released from that cylinder at a higher pressure owing to the type of engine. This calls for greater evaporation from the boiler, both on account of the increased size of the cylinder and the increased density of the steam which is required to fill it. Query--lIf the Roberts boiler in the Say When could do as well as it did under the conditions of decreased heating surface (owing to There are some points: which: - a a decreased height allowed) "and under other conditions above mentioned, what would. have been the result with a Roberts boiler of ample size, and room in which to place it? i Et. Roberts: New. York, Aug. 27, 1896. ee ~No Passengers on Lenin Boats. Editor Marine Review:--In your issue of Aug. 20, T note under the caption of "In General" the following article: 'Tt is understood that as a result of the low freights this summer and the unusual demand upon owners to carry passengers on freight boats, the Lehigh Valley Co. has made a low fixed charge for pass- engers, to cover extra expense of provisions and help in the steward's department, with the understanding, of course, that no passengers are to be carried excepLing 'such as have been shown this courtesy in the past without charge." I wish to state that I did not think it possible that you would per- mit such a stupid article to appear in your paper. Without accommo- dations for more than three passengers on board of any ship in our line, and with a standing order that no passengers, under any circum- stances, shall be carried in the line, it is aggravating to the company to find such stuff as this pubished for information. W. P. Henry. Buffalo, Aug. 28, 1896. 'Capt. Henry's usual vigorous style of writing is visible in' the above communication. He will probably admit with other readers of the Review, however, that our columns are as free from "stupid arti- cles"' as are those of most similar publications. We are pleased to cor- rect the error, but must state in justice to ourselves that the article -was based on a See made by one of the captains in the Heli line. Proposed Ottawa Canal. The great bulk of the traffic on the upper lakes is now being con- ducted in vessels of such large dimensions and draught of water that they can not avail themselves of the Canadian canal system from Port Colborne to Montreal, nor will they be able to do so when all of the canals are enlarged to the extent at present contemplated. Canada possesses through its St. Lawrence and Ottawa routes the shortest, cheapest and quickest water channels from the great. west to the ocean and Europe. If we hope to secure our natural share of the trade of the west, we must adapt our system to the capacity of the large vessels now employed on the upper lakes, and this is all the more urgent be- cause the tendency is constantly towards a still larger capacity. This can only be effected by enlarging and deepening our present canals to correspond with capacity required; or by building new canals via the Welland and the St. Lawrence river, which would. probably cost less than the enlargement; or by utilizing the Nipissing and Ottawa route for barge transportation. A great deal can be said in favor of the last proposition. With large elevators at French River and Montreal, with darge locks through which a tug and consorts could pass with one lockage, this should prove the most economical means of transporta- tion that can be adopted. The cost of elevators and transhipment at the western terminus would be insignificant as compared with the sav- ing of interest on cost of the proposed canal as compared with a 20- foot ship channel. If the traffic prospects for the Ottawa canal are such as to justify its construction, it ought to be undertaken. and operated as a government work, to be employed in connection with and supple- mentary to the Welland and St. Lawrence route. A charter should not have been granted to any company for a work of such magnitude and importance, which may be used as a competitor instead of an addi- tion to the government canal system. We notice that an application is being made to parliament for amendments to the charter, for ex- tending the time within which operations were to be commenced! etc. As the charter has expired through non-fulfillment of conditions, it is to be hoped that parliament will refuse to extend it. The country will cordially approve of a sufficient money appropriation being made to procure a thorough survey of the proposed canal and reliable estimates of cost and probable through and local traffic to be obtained. We be- lieve that the cost will be so moderate, and the public advantages so great, that the government will see its way towards the early construc: tion of this Ottawa canal.--Canadian Manufacturer. Toronto and return, ¢4.50--Excursions via the Nickel Plate road leave Cleveland, Monday, Sept. 7, at 5:30 a. m. and 9:30 p.m. Tie kets sold to Niagara Falls or the Thousand Islands, For detailed in- formation inquire at 224 Bank street, or depots. 303 Sep. 6