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September, 1909 the new season teas, their passages be- ing watched with great interest and excitement. The opening of the canal, together with the close of the Franco- German war, probably uccounts for the leap which took place in the output of this district about 1872, the tonnage rising for the five years ending 1868 from 17 per cent of the total output to 30.4 per cent. Up to this time iron sailing ships had been largely built. The cargo steamers built on_ this coast became noted for their econom- ical steaming and large carrying quali- ties, the old fine-lined yacht-like mod- els giving place to vessels built with much fuller lines. In the discussion of a paper read by J. Hamilton Jr., at the Institution of Naval Architects in 1883, B. Martell said that the north- east coast models "are admitted to be more profitable for general cargo car- rying purposes than the form of ves- sels origina ly built on that river" (the Clyde), and J. Inglis said the Clyde builders were "so much engaged in building fast vessels for the carriage of mails and passengers that they were content to leave the cargo-carrying ship to the east coast.' Since 1883, however, the position has completely changed, and the north-east coast has turned its attention more to fast and intermediate steamers of the _ highest class, and Clyde builders have largely taken up the building of cargo steam- ers. The earliest iron shipbuilders on the Tyne and Wear, and most of their workmen came from Scot'and, and from the beginning until the present time there has been much interchange of talent and energy between this district and Scotland, Sixty-Fourthers. On the north-east coast were first built, but at Cardiff and in the south- west were largely owned, the class of cargo "tramp" steamers, known as sixty-fourthers, because the ownership was divided into sixty-fourths; and numerous small capitalists, as well as large, invested their money in ships, sometimes to their advantage, but al- ways to the advantage of the "manag-_ ing owners." The first, or one of the first of these, was ordered with great hesitation by George Pyman, of Messrs. Pile, Spence & Co. of West Hartle- pool, and was said to Have carried 700 tons, cost the owners £14,000, and cleared anything up to 60 per cent per annum profit. Well-Deckers. Vessels of a peculiarly successful type known as well-deckers had their origin on the north-east coast, for they were first built in the Hartlepools TAE MARINE REVIEW in 1865. This type of vessel was at first looked upon with some distrust, and serious misgivings were expressed as to its safety and sea-going qualities ; but it proved to be eminently satisfac- tory, even when the weil was filled with water. Mr. Martel', when speak- ing at the Institution of Naval Archi- tects in 1892, remarked that the well- deck type of vessel had proved itself by reliable statistics to have excep- tional immunity from the ioss as com- pared with others; and Edward Withy, of Hartlepool, when speaking in 1882 before the Institution of Naval Archi- tects, said: "Out of 101 vessels which we have built and sent to sea within the last 13. years, three-fourths were well-deckers; some of them had long poops and some quarter-decks, but al had wells, and of this number there was only one suspicious case of loss." The origin of the well-deck steamer was the need of additional cargo space at the after end, to compensate. for the space occupied by the engine-room and shaft tunnel, and enable full car- goes to be carried without loading the vessel "by the head." Short raised quarter-decks were designed, and after- wards long raised quarter-decks, to- gether with long bridge houses and topgallant forecastles with deep wel-s between the bridge front and _ fore- castles. Later, the original intention was "forgotten, and vessels began to be built with the bridge houses joined to the forecastle, and long raised quarter- decks aft; so that the space for cargo was much greater forward than aft. Finally, 'one "improvement" after an- other has led back to the old plan-- flush decked, with full poop, bridge and forecastle! Self-Trimming. Self-trimming coliers were intro- duced about the year 1877 by Mr. Kerr, of Sunderland, and afterwards improved by John Price, at Jarrow. It was not until about the year 1885 that the use of mild steel began rapidly to displace iron in the construction of ships. A year or two later triple-ex- pansion marine engines, with boilers of 150 Ib, working pressure and up- wards, began to be generally used. © Turret Type. Amongst other types of vessels which owe their origin to the builders on this coast may be mentioned the well-known "turret" vessels, introduced by Messrs. Doxford in 1892, when they built the Turret of 1,970 tons gross. Since then 179 turret vesse's have been built, measuring in all 685,000 tons. The turret type of steamer was designed to 307 have a small register tonnage in pro- porticn ta the deadweight, also to be a self-trimmer and a large deadweight carrier. These objects have been ac- complished by the peculiar transverse form of the vessel above the water, which is of an ogee section, the upper or turret deck being much narrower than the lower or harbor deck. It is also claimed that the structural weight is relatively small without diminution of necessary strength. These vessels have wide hatchways which, with the upper part of the cross section cut away, makes them practicaly self-trim- mers. Then the draught assigned be- ing favorable, and the net register ton- nage being reduced by the peculiar form, the proportion of deadweight to net tonnage comes out relatively large. In some of these designs provision is made for dispensing with pillars in the hold, either -entirely or partially. Trunk Steamers. Ropner & Sons with their patent "trunk" building the Trunkby in 1895, and since then 43 others, the total ton- nage reaching 165,500. In Messrs. Ropner's trunk steamer the side above the water is rounded inwards in the same manner as in Messrs, Doxford's turret, but the upper part of the. side is .vertical instead of being curved. The trunk, as in the instance of the turret, is of the same height as the poop and forecastle, to which it is united, and they are, as a rule, like the turret steamers, without sheer. Messrs. W. Gray & Co. built their first McGlashan's patent "side tank" steamer, the Mancunia, in 1898. This vessel proving successful, was followed by 10 others, the total gross tonnage having now reached 40,100 tons. In Messrs. Gray's steamer the peculiarity is that she has double sides fitted for water ballast. These extend from the double bottom to the underside of the upper or main deck, and longitudinally from half to three-quarters the length of the ship. As in the Dixon-Harro- way "cantilever" design, this provides for augmented water ballast space which is not included in the tonnage, and the center of gravity of the bal- last being raised makes an easy ship when in ballast trim. In these vessels, the proportion of deadweight to regis- ter tonnage is favorable to the ship owner as it is in the turret, trunk and cantilever types. Sir Raylton Dixon & Oo. began building vessels on their so-called cant- ilever framed principle in 1904, with the Hedwig Heidman, of 2,200 tons. On their patents 22 vesse's have been Messrs. followed steamer,