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September, 1909 possible in naval vessels. The navi- - gating bridge is in most recent de- signs entirely enclosed, and the voice tube connecting the engine room, ir- respective of other considerations, is led in the most direct line to the en- eine starting platform. | Machinery noises and vibrations are not, to be sure, entirely overcome, but every effort is exerted to accomplish the intelligent transmission of the voice. The criterion at the present moment must appear in the abundant and im- portant uses that our navy finds for their increased employment. (To be continued.) ANNUAL CONVENTION OF AM- ERICAN BOILER MANUFAC- TURERS' ASSOCIATION. The twenty-first annual convention of the Association was held in Detroit on Puc 10, 11 and 12, the president, Col, E21) Meier, in the chair... Among the subjects of a marine nature was the discussion of the steamboat inspection . rule requiring all boiler heads on west- ern river steamers to be 54 in. thick, instead of 1% in., as formerly allowed, led by Capt. Rees, of Pittsburg, who gave the rule hearty. approval, saying that trouble with the old %-in. heads was frequent, but not with the heavier heads now required. Col. Meier point- ed out that these boilers are all ex- ternally fired and worked extremely hard under rates of combustion reach- ing 50 lb. per sq. ft. of grate. Discussion of the best method of promoting circulation in corrugated fur- race boilers while getting up steam was general, and the various methods em- ployed, such as the steam jet in the bottom, the hydrokineter, the pump, the screw propeller, the internal feed pipe, ete, were taken up in detail... H. J: Hartley, of Cramp Co.,: Phila- delphia, compared the revised rules of 'the board of supervising inspectors of steam vessels of 1909 with previous tules and said that the new rules were a great improvement on the old. Capt. Rees said that this improvement was due entirely to the efforts of the com- mittee of the association which dealt with the matter. Capt. Rees urged that the association go on record as demand- ing that plates should be stamped with the tensile strength actually found from the coupons tested by the government 'inspectors and not arbitrarily fixed at 62,000 Ib. when it' might considerably exceed that"figure. In this he was sup~ ported by the president and resolution to that effect was passed. A resolution was also passed con- demning the specifications for boiler THE Marine REVIEW plate recommended by the American So- ciety for Testing Materials at its recent Atlantic City convention, because of the higher sulphur and phosphorus al- lowed under them and asserting that "Me revised specifications are formulat- ed for the convenience of the steel makers, who had not lived up to 'the agreement made through the American Steel Plate Association with the Boiler Manufacturers' Association. Col, E. De Meier, New York, was: re-elected president, and J. D. Farasey, Cleveland, secretary. The next con- vention will be held in' Chicago and will occupy four days. SIDE-WEEL STEAMER NOR- WICH. Herewith is published a photograph of the veteran side-wheel steamer Norwich, which was built at- New York in 1836, ard wkich has been assigned to the 353 inal condition for the Hudson-Fulton celebration. It is extremely unfortunate, therefore, that she should burn again at this time, but a large force of men have been put to work upon her and it is expected that she will be ready by | Sept. 20; The Norwich was originally built for the passenger trade on Long Island Sound. In the early 50's she was tak- en to the Hudson and put in trade at Rondout, with the steamer Emerald. Later she was converted into a tow boat, and has plied the Hudson ever since, serving as an ice crusher during the winter months. WESTERN DRY DOCK AND SHIP BUILDING CO. 'The citizens -of -Port Arthur have ratified the agreement for the establish- ment of a ship yard at Port Arthur, made between the city council and the THe Norwicu, SAID To BE THE OLDEST STEAMER IN THE WORLD. second squadron in the naval parade of the Hudson-Fulton celebration at New York on Sept. 25, next. Unfortu- rately, fire broke out on this old steam- er, Aug. 30, starting apparently in the lamp room on the lower deck. Before it could be extinguished the joiner work had been completely destroyed with the exception of the pilot house and a room underneath, and the wheel boxes. This is the second fire that has broken out on the old steamer in two years. She was practically destroyed by fire at Rondout in December, 1907, and was sunk to save her. She lay in the ice opening of navigation in the spring and the management decided not to rebuild her. . Mrs. S. G. Coykendall, a daughter of the late Major Cornell, of the Cornell Steamboat Co., owners of the Norwich, prevailed upon the man- tore the boat to its orig- until agement to res Western Dry Dock & Ship Building Co, which is a subsidiary of the American Ship Building Co. By this agreement the company on its _part contracts to build, equip and op- erate in the city, first a dry dock capa- ble of receiving and handling the larg- est vessels plying on the great lakes, and, second, a ship building plant ade- quate for the constructing and equipping of such vessels. The building of these works to be begun within two months of the date of ratification by the rate- payers or of the date of the passing by the provincial legislature of an act empowering the municipality to 'enter into the agreement, should the authori- ty of such an act be fourld to be neces- sary. Both dry dock and ship building plant are to be ready for operation on Sept. 1, 1911. At least 300 hands are to be kept in steady employment in the