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1003.) MARINE REVIEW: AND MARINE: RECORD. 25 BIDS FOR WOODEN SUCTION DREDGE. Bids will be opened by Capt. J. C. Sanford, government en- gineer at Philadelphia, on Sept. 21, for the construction of a wooden, single-screw suction dredge for Key West harbor. The dredge is to be 141 ft. over all, 130 ft. keel; 31 ft. beam, and 15 ft. deep. The keel is to be of oak, knees of hackmatack and deck beams and planking of Georgia pine. The hull is to be subdivided by three athwartship bulkheads. The forward bin is to extend from frame No. 10 to No. 20 and the after bin from frame No. 45 to 56. The dredge is to have two Oregon pine masts, 68 ft. long, and fitted with all necessary iron work and rig. The main house aft is to contain galley, mess room, store room, three sleep- ing rooms and a bath room. The pilot's house and captain's room is to be finished in oak, spruce and white pine. The dredge will be propelled by a fore and aft vertical, in- verted, compound condensing engine with cylinders 17 and 32 in. in diameter with stroke of 24 in., supplied with steam from one Scotch return tubular boiler 13 ft. 6 in. in diameter and 12 ft. long, fitted with three 39-in. corrugated furnaces. The dredging pumps are to be 15 in., of centrifugal type and extra heavy con- struction, especially adapted for dredging. The blades are to be covered with removable steel plates for their entire working sur- 560,000; other countries, 1,100,000.. The British figures represent a decrease of 500,000 tons on 1901, but an increase of the same amount'on 1900. The tonnage entered and cleared in the trade with British possessions totalled:--British, 11,800,000; foreigti, 1,300,000. The total merchant navy of the British empire in 1901 (the figures for last year are not given) was 35,353 vessels, with a net tonnage of 11,120,388. In 1896 (the previous period of com- parison) the figures were :--Vessels, 37,735; net tonnage, 10,503,- 307. The United States comes next with 20,645 vessels and 4,854,310 gross tonnage in I9oI, against 20,869 vessels and 4,233,- 468 tons in 1896. The proportion of foreigners to every roo British persons employed (exclttsive of lascars) in vessels bélonging to the United Kingdom, Isle of Man, and Channel islands, which were returned as engaged in the home and foreign trades in 1902, was 22.82. The percentage in 1901 was 21.76, and in 1900 21.14. SHIP BUILDING ON PACIFIC COAST. San Francisco, Sept. 5--Ship building on the Pacific coast is fairly active. At the yard of the Fulton Iron Works, San Fran- cisco, a steamer is being built for the Watsonville Transportation Co. to be used in the fruit trade between Watsonville and San Longitudinal Section and Deck Plan of Wooden Suction Dredge for Key West Harbor. face. The depth of the blade is to be uniform and to pass in easy curve from suction inlet to the periphery. The number of revolu- tions of the disc of this pump is to be between 200 and 250 per minute; and the pump is to be capable of raising and discharging against a total head of 14 ft. 60 cu. yds. of water per minute. The pumping engine is to be of the vertical, inverted, compound con- densing type with cylinders 12 and 22 in. in diameter by 14 in. stroke, and it is to be directly connected to the 15-in. sand pump. The dredge is to be equipped with a steam hoister of the Lidger- wood or Williamson make and is to be lighted throughout by electricity. . MERCHANT SHIPPING OF UNITED KINGDOM. A Blue Book just issued contains tables showing the progress of merchant shipping in the United Kingdom and the principal maritime countries. 'They have been compiled by the commercial, labor, and statistical department of the Board of Trade. In the table giving the tonnage of sailing and steam vessels of different nationalities, which entered and cleared in the foreign trade at ports in the United Kingdom in 1902, Britain stands first with the enormous total of 64,900,000 tons. Of foreign countries, Norway heads the list with 6,700,000, with Germany next, having 5,600,000, then Sweden with 3,600,000, followed by Denmark, Holland, and Spain in the order named. If steamships only are reckoned, England represents a tonnage of 63,000,000, and the positions of foreign countries are reversed to this extent, that Germany stands next with 5,100,000 tons, followed by Norway with 4,700,000, then Denmark, Holland, Sweden, and Spain in the order written. The tonnage entered and cleared at United Kingdom ports in the trade with the United States was:--British, 12,100,000; United States, Francisco. The company is also to install the machinery and boilers on two steamers--Shasta and Elizabeth, = | At Moran Bros. Co.'s works, Seattle, Wash., the passenger accommodation in the Boston Steamship Co.'s steamer Shawmut has been materially changed. The Shawmut will go to the Puget Sound navy yard for a general overhauling. Her place will be taken at Moran's by the Tremont of the same line. Each vessel is to have accommodations for 600 passengers, forty first cabin, sixty second cabin and 500 steerage. lee John Lindstrom, Aberdeen,. Wash., has begun work on two new steamers--one for Beadle Bros. to be 186 ft. in length, 36 ft. beam and 12 ft. 6 in. deep; and the other for Charles Higgins to be 169 ft. in length, 34 ft. beam and 11 ft. deep. oe _E. W. Heath, Puget Sound, will build a new steamer for the Alaska Steamship Co. She will be 250 ft. long, 38 ft. beam and will cost $215,000. She will be equipped with triple-expansion engines and Scotch marine boilers. The Seattle Ship Yards Co., Seattle, Wash., has begun work upon a new marine railway to be 250 ft. long and capable of caring for vessels up to 2,000 tons. Hall Bros., Winslow, Wash., are converting the ship Invin- cible into a five-masted schooner for the lumber trade. | The Russian authorities have taken recently two steps which cannot fail to increase the importance of the new port of Dalny. First, it has been decided that Dalny shall be the port connecting the Eastern China railway with the steamship service of the Pacific; great efforts are being made to provide the necessary accommodation for travelers passing through the port of Dalny; secondly, the mails will be conveyed by way of Dalny.