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compares the steamers of the Fall River Line with the Sandy Hook and other ves- sels plying on daylight routes. If he or any of your readers care to lie in a berth on board such light draught and lightly built propellers he will quickly see how unfit they are for night service, being built for inland navigation, while the Sound line steamer necessitates a much stronger construction. "In the case of the Commonwealth it includes a double bottom, eight water tight compartments with no, doors in them, two fire bulkheads extending from the hull to the upper deck, a sprinkler system consisting of 1,800 outlets in all parts of the ship, numerous thermostats, and the lining of the freight deck with iron, all of which means weight which could not be carried on a vessel of the length of the Commonwealth-- which is 456 ft.--if the form of hull necessary for a 15-ft. propeller ship has been used. The length of the Priscilla is 440 ft. 6 in.: her horse power is 8,500. The length of the Providence is 397 ft.; her horse power is 5,500. The horse power of the Commonwealth is 11,000. The length of the Plymouth is 366 ft.; her horse power is 5,000. "Finally, the experience of 30 years has proved the value and economy of the inclined engine for safety, comfort, and efficiency on a line over which abnor mal speeds are not required, and where engine space is not restricted." QUESTIONS FOR MASTERS AND MATES.--NO. 11. 160. Name the principal the mariner's compass. 161. Why is the bowl of the mar- iner's compass filled with liquid? 162. What kind of a compass is a Ritchie compass? 163. What kind of liquid does its bowl contain? 164. Can you see the magnets of a Ritchie compass? _ : 165. How would you expel an air bubble in a Ritchie compass? 166. Where is the expansion cham- ber of a Ritchie compass? 167. What is the object of the ex- Pansion chamber? 168. What kind of packing is used to make the glass top of a: Ritchie compass perfectly air-tight? 169. What is spirits of wine com- Posed of? f8 extreme heat affect a parts,of 170. Does' compass? Whhat is the effect? 171. What effect does extreme cold have on a liquid compass? .172. What are the essentials of a g00d compass? 173. How. should a compass behave mM a sea-way? : 174. Can you see the magnets of a "TAE Marine REvIEw Baker compass through the glass top? ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS FOR MASTERS AND MATES.-- NO... 34, 160.. Bowl, card and magnetic needles. 161. To keep the card from flying round in a seaway. The liquid floats the card and magnets and reduces the friction on the pivot to the minimum, thus rendering the compass the more sensitive. 162....A .-liquid compass. with .the magnets sealed in water-tight recepta- cles. 163. Spirits of wine. 164. No, only tthe receptacles that contain them. 165.. Unship the bowl from the gimbal ring and remove false bottom so as to expose the expansion cham- ber. -Now turn compass bowl on edge with the filling hole up, and keeping a slight pressure on expansion chamber with the finger, loosen up filling hole screw and let the air es- cape around the threads. If necessary, remove the screw and pour in a mix- ture of equal parts of pure alcohol and distilled water to running over point, then replace the screw keeping a slight pressure on the expansion chamber. "166. Next. to the «bottom «of, the compass bowl. The bottom of the bowl is weighted with lead to add weight to the bottom so as to make it ride horizontally. This weight or cap is screwed to the bottom of com- pass bowl and when removed exposes the expansion chamber. This false bottom also acts as a protection to the chamber: 167. It keeps the bowl constantly filled and permits expansion and con- traction due to change of temperature without injury to parts. Also pre- vents bubbles in the contraction of the liquid. 168. Gum rubber. 169. Forty-five per cent of pure al- cohol and 55 per cent of distilled wa- ter thoroughly mixed. 170. Yes, it tends to decrease the magnetism. 171. It makes it more sluggish by increasing the density of the liquid. 172. The pivot should be accurately centered in the bowl. The jewel for balancing the card should also be ac- curately centered, likewise the direct- ing magnets, said magnets to be ex- actly parallel with north and south on card. The entire instrument should be in perfect balance. 173. It should be steady and not move when the boat rolls and pitches, except when the ship changes the di- rection: of her cheads ss. oe 174. 2¥es. ITEMS OF GENERAL INTEREST. _ The American Ship Windlass Mois Providence, R. L, was the only bid- der for furnishing the Panama canal. commission with one small steam -- windlass with 60 fathoms of suitable stud link chain. The bid was $400 for the windlass and $90 for the chain. The Walter R. Horning Co., engineers, Cleveland, O., have issued a folder de- scriptive of their multipolar motors. The component parts of the motor are -- separately described, three excellent half- tons being used to illustrate the reading matter. A special price list for a period of sixty days on a lot of one hundred motors is given, and anyone interested would do well to write for this circular. -- The gunboats Paducah and Dubuque have each reported the loss of a pro- peller within the space of a _ week. This..is qtite..an unusual accident although in the case of the gunboats would not prove serious as both are twin'-'screw' vessels, The. Paducal dropped her port propeller while one day out from Hayti for New York on Aug. 19, while the Dubuque lost her starboard propeller in Long Island Sound Aug. 25. Both vessels. will be fitted with wheels at the New York navy yard. Admiral George Dewey on Aug. 26 unveiled the bronze tablet which has been placed on the commandant's house at Portsmouthnavy yard where Farragut, first admiral of the Ameri- can navy, died. The tablet was draped with the flag which Farragut flew on his last voyage on the Talla- poosa, which ship brought h'm to the yard in 1870. The inscription on the tablet reads: "Died in this house, Aug. 14, 1870, David Glasgow Farvra- gut, Admiral United States Navy, Faithful and Fearless." Director Grady, of the department of wharves and docks of the city of Philadelphia, has filed a report of the trip which he made abroad to in- spect the docking facilities of the great European ports. Among the cities visited were, Genoa, Cherbourg, Southampton, London, Liverpool, Manchester, Avonmouth, Bristol, Hamburg, Antwerp and Rotterdam. The immensity of the mode:n ware- houses, the frequent use of electric and hydraulic machinery for loading and discharging cargoes, granite and concrete bulkheads replacing wooden ones, and most of all the constant trend toward modernization of the foreign seaports attracted his notice.