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34 oe Tae Marine Review could not be got off before the ice set in, has been received from the special officers at Quebec. Unless present condi- tions change they are satisfied that the vessel can be floated when navigation opens. It is satisfactory at least to learn that the vessel has not strained or changed in condition since the salvage operations had to be suspended by the coming of winter. -- Of four large armored ships. to be included. in the navy program for the next financial year the Glasgow Herald says only two will, according to present intentions. be ordered' from private. works. The other two will be laid down in 'the: 'Royal dockyards. As to the design of these vessels, nothing. has yet; been: decided, and it is probable that they will not 'be ordered. until an advanced date in the year. There are several reasons®. 'for: this. - The admiralty are anxious to have _more "experience of turbine machinery. An engineering. "officer" "'went on the Car- mania on her first -voyagé, another of. still, higher rank sail- ed with that vessel on 'Saturday Jan. 'en; for New York, and. later there is every likelihood that the. Cunard Co. will place at the disposal of the 'Admiralty' all the data available as to the comparative economy of the Carmania_ and Caronia. The ten coastal destroyers, the first of which has been launched, will be completed by the autumn and exhaus- tive trials will be made, and as these craft embody all the improvements that experience has suggested in connection with warship turbine propulsion, they will.serve the purpose of models for ektensive practical experiments. The turbine- driven battleship "Dreadnought" _ will not be ready for trial for a year, but it may be possible then to modify arrange- ments for future ships according to the results attained. AT THE HEAD OF THE LAKES. Duluth, Minn., Feb. 12---There are now more than 17,- 000,000 bu. of grain in elevators at the head of the lake, 1,000,000 bu. at Washburn, and 10,000,000 bu. at Fort Wil- liam and Port Arthur. There is no probability that all storage will be filled during the winter, for wheat and other grains are coming in slowly at all points. There is a very large volume of oats in store, more than ever before, nearly 6,000,000 bu. at Duluth-Superior, and 500,- ooo bu. at Washburn. The flax totals are only half of last year at Duluth-Superior with none at other points. It is likely that grain in store at the three points at the opening of navigation may amount to 36,000,000: bu. The Nye, Jenks Co., houses are so well. filled with coarse grain that they are loading out a considerable quantity. Several ships have been loaded here, and the Aurania took on 241,000 bu. at their Washburn house last Friday. In moving the ship the ice was found to be up to' 2 fe thick John H.,McLean, formerly of ionuood: Mich, but now assistant general manager of the Oliver Iron Min- ing Co., of Duluth, has been made vice pzesident of the Pittsburg Steamship Co., vice -L. W. Powell, ' whose resignation from the former: position made the latter also vacant. Mr. McLean was formerly the Oliver com- pany's superintendent on the Gogebic range, with office at Ironwood.. A little ice formed outside Mistecats sGine on Sunday night, when the thermometer went to 20 below, and there was not a breath of wind. But the field is small.and thin and is not likely to remain. It is an' even chance, if ice could not form heavily enough to stay: under the condi- tions of Sunday, if it will format all. .Tugs and small craft have been able to travel the, lake continuously so far this winter, and the north shore traffic has been very large. This has been a very great help to lumbering and other interests down the shore. ITEMS OF GENERAL INTEREST. The Fraser Hollow Spar & Boat Co., Greenport, N. Y., has a large number of orders for spars. The Lake Superior Corporation of Sault Ste. Marie has" made an agreement to provide water system for the little town of Steelton. Vernon H. Brown & Co., agents for the Cunard Line, will move from 29 Broadway to the Battery Park Build- ing, 24 State street, New York, on April 1. ' Cobb, Butler & Co., Rockland, Me., are to build an auxiliary schooner having a 500 h. p.° gasoline engine. She will be 225 ft. long, 44 ft. beam and 25' ft. deep.' ~ The Clyde Line has given contract to Cramp's of Phil- adelphia, for a steel steamer to be a duplicate of thé 'Onondago and Chippewa, or in other words to be 275 . long, 40 {t. beam and 19 ft. deep. The dock commissioner of New York has ieee abhor: ized to prepare plans for three ferry boats to cost $200)- ooo for the 39th street ferry to South Brooklyn.. The three -- boats authorized will be smaller than those now running to Staten Island. The steamer Jamestown, which is building by the Naw port News Ship Building & Dry Dock Co., for the Nor- folk & Washington Steamboat Co. will be launched on March 15. This steamer is intended for daylight trips on the Potomac river and Chesapeake bay. The stockholders of the Detroit & Cleveland Navigation Co., have authorized the directors to increase the capitaliza- tion of the company to $2,500,000. This is an increase of $500,000, and is caused by the pending construction of the new sidewheel steamer. The balance of the sum needed to pay for the steamer will be taken out of the surplus. After Capt. James Reid had succeeded in raising the Manila of the Pittsburg Steamship Co.'s fleet stranded at Encampment island thirty miles from Duluth, he met with an unfortunate setback in that the forward end of the vessel sank in 27 ft. of water. It appears that the forward bulkhead gave way and filled the hold. She will be pulled out and go to Duluth for repairs. j At. the annual meeting of the stockholders of the Cheat Lakes Towing Co., held in Jersey City last week, the follow- ing directors were elected: George A. Garretson, Harry Coulby, L. M. Bowers, L. C. Hanna, H. G. Dalton, C. W. Elphicke, Capt. James Ash, R. R. Rhoades, C. E. Grover, James Davidson, A. B. Wolvin, Edward Smith, D. Sullivan, John A. McGean, T. F. Newman and Wm. Livingstone. The change in the directorate is the addition of Wm. Living- stone. a Orlando Kling, commercial' agent, P. O. Drawer 1574, Denver, Colo., has issued a circular descriptive of W. F. Merrymen's exhaust respirator. It is a device intended to enable firemen to work in dense smoke and poisonous gases. The device consists of a rubber hood which fits' closely over the head and connects with a reservoir con-' taining oxygen. The device is well described in the cir-' cular which will be sent to anyone upon request. © It would certainly seem to have excellent uses on ship- board in fighting fire in compartments filled with smoke. The Vinyard Ship Building Co., Milford, Del., recent- ly completed a rather interesting craft for Kliber Bros., Port English, Fla: Shelis intended to trade with small towns and ports on the Gulf of Mexico, which are inac- cessible to the ordinary vessel owing to the limited draught. Combined with this lightness of draught, how- ever, are unusual seagoing qualities as part of her trips are made in the open ocean where she is subject to the force of the elements. On her trial she developed a speed of 12.6 knots an hour under natural draft and proved herself satisfactory in every way. The vessel has been named P. J. Thistlewood.