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1899: ] power. In appearance, also, the Dahlgren differs widely from other Amer- ican boats, a circumstance due no doubt in a great measure to her short, straight smoke stacks rising only just above the awning. The Dahlgren, it may be mentioned, has not, at this writing, had her official trial, but she has traveled at the rate of 31 knots in dead water and has averaged 30% knots (her contract speed) for about 15 minutes, so that her ability as regards contract requirements can scarcely be called in question. The present autumn will witness the official trial of another vessel of great interest to that portion of the naval public which concerns itself with the construction and operation of torpedo boats. The Stringham, just completed at the yard of the Harlan & Hollingsworth Co., Wilming- ton, Del., is, by virtue of her size, the flag ship of the torpedo boat flotilla of the United States navy. With her length of 225 feet she is fully 70 tons greater in displacement than the Farragut constructed by the Union Iron Works, Sdn Francisco, and is fully twice as large as any other tor- pedo boat built or building for the United States government. In design the Stringham follows somewhat the British type of boat, but she is not by any means a close copy. A turtle back is built from the forward con- ning tower to the stern and the latter has a sharp rake instead of being MARINE REVIEW. : 25 the same time there is every probability that the close of the year will find a number of the new craft of this class in the water. A feature of torpedo boat work in America to which considerable attention is now being given is the experiments with liquid fuel. No less an authority than Lieut. Commander William W. Kimball, U. S. N., who was in command of the Atlantic torpedo boat flotilla during the Spanish war, declared in a recent report that "there can be no properly constructed coal bunkers aboard torpedo boats and the real solution of the difficulty is to resort to liquid fuel.' Preparations have been completed by the navy department for further trials of oil fuel on the torpedo boat Talbot, which has been equipped for the experiment at the Norfolk navy yard. The in- stallation of oil apparatus on the Talbot consists of two large tanks, from which the oil is forced by compressed air through pipes to the furnaces. A special 'burner has been fitted under each boiler and it is claimed that by the use of one of these 'burners 160 pounds of steam can be generated in nine minutes from a perfectly cold boiler. The oil used is non-explosive made from the refuse of oil refineries, and is consequently very cheap, it being asserted that its cost will not amount to 50 per cent that of coal. Another torpedo boat, probably the Gwin, will be similarly equipped. GWIN. PORTER. MACKENZIE. DUPONT. Flyers of the United States Torpedo Boat Flotilla. Plumb as usual. The Stringham is engined for 7,200 indicated horse power and she is expected to develop a speed in excess of 30 knots. NOT ALL ACCORDING TO GOVERNMENT PLANS. Of the sixteen torpedo boat destroyers and nineteen torpedo boats now building five are in Pacific coast yards, while the remainder are under construction on the Atlantic. Some of the builders of these vessels have followed the plans prepared by the government, but others have made modifications in varying degree. Against this the advocates of standardi- zation are protesting most vigorously, and not, it must be admitted, with- Out considerable argument on their side, but the leeway given the builders will in the end prove deeply instructive by reason of the comparisons as to detail that will be afforded between vessels constructed under the same general specifications. As an indication of the extent of departure from 8overnment plans, 'both as to hull and machinery, there may be cited the Case of the destroyers Truxtun, Whipple and Worden, building at_the works of the Maryland Steel Co. at Sparrow's Point, Md. The official Plans of these vessels contemplated a trial displacement of 420 tons, but it iS expected that they will have a displacement of at least 433 tons on trial. All three of these vessels are of somewhat greater dimensions than yontemplated 'by the navy department, but they are on considerably finer més and will have at least 300 horse power in excess of the 8,000 specified. Scarcity of steel is likely to interfere materially with the completion of the torpedo boats and destroyers now building. Several firms have already applied for an extension of time, in which to fulfil contracts. At The United States naval authorities have, as is well known, been giving attention for some time past to the claims of the submarine boat. They recently conducted trials on the Holland in the vicinity of New York, which proved quite successful, the boat being submerged and run for a mile under the surface. The submarine boat Plunger, building for the government at Baltimore and the completion of which has been so long delayed, is also likely to go forward now with little delay, as it has about been concluded to substitute internal combustion engines for the steam triple expansion type now fitted. The navy department will not grant the applications for extension of time in the case of the contractors on torpedo boats. The delay in the completion of these vessels will be a year on account of the difficulty of getting steel. The firms have been advised that they may proceed with the work and it is implied that on the completion of the ships the penalties will 'be remitted, provided the delay has 'been caused by failure in the sources of supply. According to Professor Ewing, eminent English physicist, "a Chinese navigator named Hoang Ti so long as twenty-four centuries before Christ used a magnet for navigating a fleet of ships. The form in which he is said to have used it was that of a fragment of lodestone, which was floated so as to be free to revolve. The mariner's compass of Chinese origin was first brought to Europe in the thirteenth century by a man named Marco Polo."