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50 FEED WATER HEATING. Editor Marine Review:--The. trade notice on the above subject in the Review of Aug. 6, while fairly correct as to the general question, contains some statements so absolutely with- out foundation that they should not be allowed to pass. I quote: "On the Atlantic and Pacific oceans the feed water heater is in general use. The same may be said of our coasting trade. On the lakes, however, the vessels in this respect are neither up to date nor economic, though in the future the modern feed water heater will undoubtedly be installed as part of the equipment of the vessels in the lake trade." This statement is unqualifiedly un- true. It does not contain one asser- tion which is even an approximation to the truth. It is evidently born of the dense ignorance of the manufac- turer of the heater referred to of the actual conditions on the lakes and of the assumption so common in the east that the shipping of the great lakes is a joke. The lack of actual knowledge of lake ships and shipping is beyond belief. There has not been a steamer of any consequence (I think it would be perfectly safe to omit the qualification) built on the great lakes in 15 years or over without a feed heater. As to the comparative values or ef- ficiencies of types, that is a subject which is not to be disposed of by the statements or claims of any concern with something to sell. It has been stated before, and it is here repeated, that the fuel economy of the ships of the great lakes is not surpassed any- where with fuels of equal value. It certainly is not in the American ma- rine. The fuel performances of coast ships are just as well. known to the builders and owners of the great lakes as at home, and the less said on the subject the better. There are more ships at sea without feed heaters than on the lakes, even in tthe beg- garly fleet afloat there. The builders of the lakes turn out each year, in ships of over 1,000 tons, over seven times the tonnage of all the rest of the United States, exclusive of naval work, of course, and nearly 75 per cent of the total merchant steam ton- nage of all classes, and the "small economies" are watched with a keen- ness totally unknown in business. Various types of heaters are in use, just as there are on the coast, and all with their advocates. The value of back-pressure in raising temperature is no new discovery; it is well known coastwise » Tae Marine ReEvVIEw and understood and just as applicable to one type as another, but brings in its train a long line of disadvantages which are positive and not worth in- curring for the slight difference in economy. We long ago abandoned that practice and confine ourselves to approaching as nearly as possible . the temperature obtainable at atmospheric pressure. Neither do we care to re- open the discussion. The statement is made that "the savings from the use of a good feed heater will pay for the heater in a few months." The temperature of the ordinary heater is put at 160 to 180 degrees. Let us see about it. We will cut out the back pressure and give the good heater credit for the highest attainable temperature, say 210 de- grees. The temperature of feed water on the ordinary ship, as shown from five examples at random, averages 189 degrees, the difference is equal to 2.1 per cent. This difference must there- fore pay for the installation. If the heater man objects to this view it should be remembered that it is the exact claim made. Let us take an average cargo ship with about 2,000 H. P., indicated, equivalent to about 1.000 H. P., boiler, on which heaters are rated. Standard heaters, including the one under dis- cussion, cost about $1 per horsepower, installed. A few figures will show that: with coal at $3,°21-per cent' is the saving on 15,873 tons of coal, or about three full seasons' business. This is not, possibly, what was meant, but that is what is said. Feed water heat- ing is good business and there is no need for making it appear ridiculous, but we cannot allow that lack of in- formation justifies such bald misstate- ments as 'to the shipping of the great lakes, practically the only merchant ma- rine the country has. The shipping of other countries, with which our coast harbors are filled, does not en- ter into the subiect at all. The heater man has made an unfortunate presen- tation of his case to the owners of the lakes. CHIEF ENGINEER. Buffalo, Aug. 10, 1908. ADMIRAL EVANS ON THE NAVY. In a recent interview at Lake Mo- honk, N. Y., Rear Admiral Evans, who has just been placed upon the retired list for age, is quoted as saying that the American navy is not large enough. "What do you think of the navy as it is today?" was asked of Admiral Evans. "The 'navy is all right, but there is not enough of it," answered the ad- miral. "What we need is 48 first-class battleships, and when we get them I will be satisfied. We want. two great . fleets of 24 battleships each, one of those fleets to be on duty in the Atlantic and the other in the Pacific, 16 of the battleships in each fleet be. ing in commission all the time, and the other eight in reserve. The navy is like the bread-and-butter story, There is plenty of bread, but not enough butter. The butter we have is all right, but it is only enough to cover half the bread. What we want is enough butter to cover all the bread, and I hope we are going to get it some day.' "As for the personnel of the Amer- ican navy, it could not be finer than it is now. The officers are splendid fellows, well trained, and thoroughly up to date. Then the enlisted men are splendid men, and no navy in the world has such excellent material in it as has ours. I have the deepest regard and the sincerest respect for the men of our navy, both officers and enlisted men, and all we need is enough ships for these splendid fel- lows to man." "What about aerial warfare? Do you think that the airship is to play an important part in the battles of the future, both on land and on the sea?" was another question put to Admiral Evans. "For the present, at least, I do not think the airship is a menace so far as the navy is concerned," answered Admiral Evans. "But there is no tell- ing what will happen. It would be foolish in this day and time to say what will or won't happen in the next 20 years. We have only to con- template the achievements of the last 20 years to appreciate this." Speaking of the type of battleships that are to be the marine engines of warfare in the future, Admiral Evans said he believed that the nations would continue to follow the Dreadnought type of all big gun ships, and that the ships would be enlarged until the 25,- 000-ton displacement figure was reached. He thinks that the 25,000- ton will be the limit, as ships bigger than that, he said, would be unwieldy and too hard to handle with dexterity. The figures compiled by the Bureau of Immigration for the month of July show a decrease in immigration from all countries amounting to 72 per cent. For the six months ended with July 31 the percentage of de- crease is 75 per cent as compared with 1907.