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Fi MARINE REVIEW. [August 23, SHIP BUILDING IN GERMANY. DESCRIPTION OF KAISERLICHE WERFT, A GERMAN NAVY YARD CREDITED WITH THE CONSrROUOCTION OF MANY MODERN VESSELS OF WAR. BY GEORGE CROUSE COOK, A series of articles on German ship building could not be complete without a description of government naval construction as carried on at the Kaiserliche Werft, or navy yards. Of these works there are three. The largest is at Wilhelmshaven on the North sea, the smallest at Danzig on the Baltic, while the third to be described herewith, is a happy in-between, representative of both, and is in Gaarden, a small town on the Kiel bay opposite the city of Kiel. Foreigners are not allowed to visit the yard except by permission from naval headquarters, granted upon application from representatives of the different countries at Berlin. Even then it is impossible to acquire complete information regarding the works, as much secrecy is maintained. In certain parts of the works the men employed are sworn to secrecy and punishment meted out for violation of rules on this score. Affairs of the yard are directed by the navy department at Berlin, the executive on the ground being a regular naval officer of the rank of sea great pains and extreme care, but the great loss of time involved in their methods is such as to render them unfit for competitive, commercial work. : The yard itself lies north and south on the eastern shore of the Kiel bay, and it is laid out with that accurate precision and care which is a universal characteristic of government works. Grass plots and flower beds are to be found everywhere, neat shaded walks run about the yard and all the shops are as bright and clean as care can make them. Even the tools, although of the conventional German and Scotch types, seem to partake of the same spirit and run with a quietness and dignity un- known in commercial surroundings. On the shore of the bay to the left of the main gate, which is on the southern limit of the yard, are the three permanent building and launching ways. From the first of these the armored cruiser Prince Henry was recently launched and on the third a similar vessel, now known as "Cruiser B," is under construction. These ways, which are made up solidly of stone and brick, are carried down to some distance below the water level of the bay, and at this point sides are built up as at the entrance of a dry dock. When a ship is being laid down a caisson is put in place and the water pumped out, giving free, dry ground at a desirable point, and at launching the caisson is removed, the water rises to some height about the stern and the vessel has but a short run before clearing the ways. The work here is carried Ships Built and Building at Kaiserliche Werft, Kiel, Germany. LAUNOH OF STEEL ARMORED ORUISER PRINCE HENRY. \ captain. This captain has his own independent staff of men who execute the orders from Berlin, oversee the yard and are accountable for the condition and appearance of the grounds, houses and shops. The actual construction, however, is in the hands of the construction corps, which consists of an especially trained body of men quite apart from the line officers, and working under a flag other than that of the German navy. The construction corps is divided into engineers and ship builders, both being recruited from the Royal Technical High School at Berlin, where all regular students, that is, native born Germans who are gymnasium graduates, may become candidates at the state examination for a commission to the lowest rank of a ship or engine constructor. These men are given the finest scientific education that is to be had in Germany. The course of training at the high school is very thorough. It extends over a period of five years, and in addition to the theoretical studies the candidates for these honors are required to serve one year as volunteer handworkers in ship yard or machine shop, and at a certain period after their commission they are ordered to a modern warship for a five-months' cruise. They are promoted in rank only when showing ability and qualifying in a bona fide examination. Assistants to these constructors are native Germans of a more or less educated class of draftsmen, and they are usually able, practical men, who have risen from the lower grades, but they must remain for all time in positions sub- ordinate to the commissioned constructors, For this reason the govern- ment service, although offering fair pay and short hours, is not con- sidered desirable by any ambitious young men who may not have had the specific training of the high school. The yard workmen must be, as the men above them, Germans. They are well trained and work with FUERST BISMARK, A STEEL ARMORED ORUISER. COAST DEFENSE BATTLESHIP AEGIR. on with the same painstaking care as is shown in the ways themselves. An elaborate lumber scaffolding is built about the ship, with the first platform almost the height of the armor shelf, and a second level about ' 8 ft. above this, upon which is a track with a traveling steam crane. The process of erection of the hull is one of extreme care, no pains or expense being spared in any detail to produce a perfectly accurate strong body. The ship machine shops stand just in from these ways. Nearly all the tools are of German manufacture, but the largest pieces bear the mark of some Scotch or British tool works. Back from the machine shops is a splendid mold loft with a narrow plank floor, perfectly fitted and painted a light gray. It is lighted from all sides and overhead. Elaborately colored drawings are laid down here of the stern, stem and rudder frame, and the whole ship's lines laid out in pencil and faired up with water lines, buttocks and diagonals. Just north of the ways on the bay shore is the torpedo boat harbor, protected from the sometimes rough water of the bay by a long sea wall running parallel with the shore, with a section at right angles con- necting the northern end with the shore. Here torpedo boats out of commission are laid up and here they come for coaling and repairs. A simple, efficient marine railway for torpedo boats is arranged at this point. [Vive sets of track at right angles to the shore run with gentle incline into the water. Upon each track is a car with blocks of suitable form for supporting a boat. These cars are let down into the water and the boat to be docked is floated over tliem, set, and then drawn by chains from one revolving shaft. The cars bring up the boat without disturbing the officers or men who may be working and living on board during the period of repairing or cleaning. By placing additional cars on the tracks