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16 Ssengers; as convenience and. com- fort in traveling. STEADINESS AT SEA. "Much of the comfort and luxury now in such great demand: by pas- sengers is provided by those who manage the ships, and not by their designer. There is one very impor- tant element of comfort, however, which.the designer can do much to supply, and to which increasing at- tention is being given. I refer to steadiness at sea, and freedom from heavy rolling and pitching." Dr. EI- gar went on to point out that much had been achieved in this direction. Proposals had recently been made in connection with pendulum _ regula- tors and the Schlick gyroscopic ap- paratus, which was to be practically tested in the Hamburg-American Co.'s passenger boat Silvana, of about 1,000 tons, which runs down the Elbe to Heligoland. Dr. Schlick was de- signing a standard gyroscope which would be suitable for boats of 1,200 tons to 2,000 tons displacement. This standard gyroscope would be elec- trically driven, except in cases. where there was not sufficient margin of electric power available in a_ ship, when it would be driven by a steam turbine. An apparatus for vessels of the displacement named would be applicable to the class of. Channel steamers, and they might hope be- fore long to see it tried in some of them. © SIZE AND SPEED, "There is a size and speed.of ship that is most appropriate and profit- able for each line of steamers, or each trade, and it varies greatly in different trades. It is the managers of the various lines who know best what: size and speed of. ships..are likely to be most profitable in their respective trades, and what are the maximum number of passengers, and quantities and descriptions of cargo likely to be forthcoming. The approximate size and the speed of mercantile steamers depend upon commercial and economic considera- tions which the ship designer usu- ally has but an imperfect knowledge of. His part consists in producing a design that will fulfill the necessary conditions of size, draught of water, speed, carrying capacity, and accom- modation for passengers in the most efficient manner and at the minimum of cost. There is one point, however, which is so important in considering further increases of speed that I _ would like to call attention to it. ATLANTIC LINERS. "Speed is limited in passenger liners, altogether independently of holds "stowed of engines, boilers, and coals it may' be THe Marine KEVIEW size, by ° economic considerations. High speed at sea is a costly lux- ury. It can be obtained by paying for it--up to 25 knots, as we see by the latest Cunard liners--but it has to be paid for by somebody. The extra cost cannot be got out of cargo freights, for as speed is increased the proportion of space available for carrying cargo is reduced by the in- crease of boilers and machinery, and therefore less cargo is carried rela- tively to the size of the ship. This reaches an- extreme. limit in the fast- est Atlantic liners, because their are' as. tull as. they. can -- be for the voyage, their speeds only be- ing limited by the impossibility of getting more boilers in, only a few odd spaces which cannot be utilized for any other purposes that are avilable for carrying a little cargo. In these cases cargo is re- duced almost to a negligible quan- tity. WHO PAYS FOR SPEED? "As regards any line of steamers, said that if speeds of more than 32 to 13- knots are de- sired the extra expenditure involved by such increase must be looked. for outside: the cargo. Thts. elernent of earning power does not bear an in- crease of rate'of freight. There are only two sources from which pay- - ment of the extra cost of increased speed could come. One is from pas- sengers and the other from a mail subsidy. No mail subsidy that could be proposed would pay more than a small proportion of this extra cost; the greater part of it must be paid by passengers. What is paid by pas- sengers for high speeds at sea may be seen by the rates charged in the fast Atlantic steamers. Apart alto- gether from the special cabins,- or apartments de luxe, for which almost any prices are. paid, the' price. of a single first-class passage to New York varies from #22 10s. to £48 10s. fOr a tun Of six dayS im one of the fastest liners, according to the po- sition of the cabin' in the ship and the time of year, or from 1%d. to nearly 4d. per mile traveled. Prices have risen "tTapidly during recent years as the speeds have been in- creased, and passengers appear to be forthcoming in ever-increasing num- bers who are ready to pay them. If that were not the case such high speeds could never have been reached. No great improvement of speed is to be looked for upon the other main lines. of ocean traffic, un- less some _ revolutionary change is made in the mode of propulsion complishment of ei 1 4S which will cut down the cost, or a sufficient number of passengers are found who will pay the higher rates it would necessitate." . RACING OF MARINE ENGINES AT SEA INEXPENSIVELY PREVENTED.* Ship owners and investors are re- spectfully invited to read and care- fully consider the subjoined remarks and suggestions relative to the ac- sea voyages with much greater safety, speed, precision, navigability, and otherwise more ben- eficially than heretofore, notably as regards the reduction of working ex- penses and the economizing. of time, without any additional cost being in- curred in first construction or in sub- sequent maintenance. The useless "racing" of the screw propellers and engines of sea-going steam vessels is undoubtedly the most' danger-producing, unprofitable, and de- testable defect to which over-sea navi- gation is subjected. Under such de- preciative influence the aggregate sea- worthiness of all classes of steamers decreases very rapidly and ruinously, more especially of those in light trim. Such are soon rendered helpless and unmanageable by a moderate gale and sea; likewise with the fully-laden ones in encountering more tempestuous weather. Even those built for speed only, and expensively equipped, are greatly deficient in a rough sea. None escape the imperfections engendered by racing. All are liable to be driven helplessly ashore if near land: in a heavy gale. Satisfactory headway in proportion to power expended has never yet been attained at sea. The unproductiveness of steaming in a seaway as compared with: the satisfactory results in smooth water is most ridiculous, when the propelling power expended and its cost is taken into consideration. For example, a distance of 200 knots and upwards, according to power expend- ed, may be traversed in one day's run in smooth water, and on the fol- lowing day probably no headway can be made in consequence of a contrary wind and heavy sea being encoun- tered. The vessel may even be driven backwards or out of her course, al- though greater power has been ex- pended by the engines and more coal used than on the previous day; also the risks of breakdowns and disaster have been increased to an unknown extent. Such enormous disparity in progressive efficiency and in liabilities incurred is not due to any incapacity *From Association Engineers of Marine Monthly Journal.