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November, 1909 with great saving of weight and space to all steamships up to 18 knots, which comprise over 95 per, cent of all the ships afloat. 2. As already stated, at 1,500 revo- lutions per minute of pinion, and 453 lb. per in. of tooth contact (or only 45 per cent of the intensity of press- ure for similar teeth at ordinary pitch- line speeds), the gear will transmit 6,000 horsepower. If this be realized, similar gears could tbe applied to any speed of ship. This design would then be of the correct power for the Dreadnought, and applied to her would save fully 50 per cent of the weight of her turbines, besides reduc- ing boiler weights, since both turbines and propellers would now 'be of con- siderably enhanced efficiency. Increasing, by the law of compari- son for similar machines, the dimen- sions and power of the present de- sign, from 6,000 horsepower, a size is obtained suitable for the Mauretania with three large screws of the same total power as the present four-screw ship. Here again the weight of the turbines would, it is 'claimed, be halved, as also the engine-room length. The boilers also, as in the Dread- nought, would, .it is considered, be materially reduced. In the general plate the upper views represent the Mauretania thus modi- fied, as compared with the existing arrangement shown in. the lowest of the three views. For warships the saving effected by such a gear should, it ds claimed, be considerable, especi- ally at cruising speeds. In Fig. 7 is plotted a curve show- ing the relation between steam con- sumption and the revolutions of. the turbine. The portion of the curve frequently used in marine 'practice is hatched, and shows clearly how very. rapidly the efficiency falls off as: the speed diminishes. By using gearing it is contended that the turbine at maximum power can be even slightly over-speeded, as at F, so that at cruising speeds the efficiency will actually 'be increased. Admiral Melville on the Tests. Editor Marine REVIEW: Your letter of Oct. 27 is at hand. I have to inform you that the Mel- ville & Macalpine reduction gear has been running at the works of the Westinghouse Machine Oo. Pittsburg for the last month. We had one continuous run of 40 hours of 6,000 H. P. on hydraulic brake. The machine showed an efficiency of 98.4 Per cent without heating of bearings or the least abrasion of the teeth. In forwarded to the government East' "TAE MarRINE REVIEW fact, the lubrication was so perfect that the tool marks stil] remain: in the teeth. The limit of horsepower on the gear was limited by the pow- er of the turbine attached and the power of the boilers which had to be forced to do the amount of work requested of them. The gear has been worked up to 6,750 H. P. with- Proposed New HE question of enlarging the Welland canal, said the deputy minister of railways and canals for Canada, in a recent report, is passing beyond the stage of mere tentative suggestion, and assuming the position of a need voiced by many practical business men in important cities from Halifax to Vancouver. A large number of resolutions urging the enlargement of the canal have been in be- half of boards of trade in all parts of the Dominion. These resolutions set forth that the enlargement and im- provement of the canal is a matter of the most urgent importance to Canada asa means of reducing te cost of transportation of grain and other ex- port products from the interior to tide water, and also as a means of making the St. Lawrence route the highway not only for the export commerce of the Dominion, but also for that of the central and northern portions of the United States. At the present time the passage of vessels through the canal is restricted to vessels 255 ft. in length with a beam of 44 ft. although there is a record of a vessel having passed through of a length of 260 ft. and a beam of 43 ft., carrying 2,440 tons of wheat. It is calculated that to make a remuner- ative voyage from Lake Superior west- ern ports to Lake Ontario eastern ports vessels should be capable of carrying 7,000 to 10,000 tons. The number of locks on the present canal is eo. ©The points which were taken into corisid- eration by the department in regard to the proposal were: to provide for the passing of vessels up to 600 ft. in length, drawing not less : than® 22 ft. of water, and the reduction of the num- ber of locks: so as to avoid delays in transit. By widening the canal prism to about two and a half times its present width, and increasing its depth to 25 ft. vessels could pass through at two-thirds full speed. The number of lift locks might be reduced to seven; their lift to be 25 £t. This would ae ly reduce the normal delays saab also minimize the risk of delay throug - meeting of parliament. 449 out any sign of strain, and we believe. the present gear can be worked up to 10,000 H. P. with safety. The. éx- periments are being continued and when tabulated they will be given to the public. I am, sir, Respectfully, Geo. W. MEeEtvILxe. Philadelphia, Oct. 29, 1909, Welland Canal accident... With these measures of ac- commodation, it was estimated that the passage through the canal, which now consumes an average of 15 hours in the case of a loaded vessel of full canal size, could be effected in about seven hours. Upon these estimates, surveys were made for the purpose of ascertaining if it were possible to carry.them out. The first. result was that it was de- termined to give up the original idea of enlarging and improving the present canal, and to construct a new one. This new route has been surveyed and a tentative route decided upon. The new line starts from Lake Erie, at Port Colborne, the point of starting of the present canal, and then will proceed in an almost direct line to Fifteen Mile Creek on Lake Ontario, some distance from Port Dalhousie. The. route is about seven miles shorter than the present one, and the surveys show that only seven locks will be necessary. The cost of the work is now being estimated in readiness for the. early While the gov- ernment proposes to ask parliament to pass an act authorizing the construction of a new Welland Canal, it is not: éx- pected that the work will be started for avyear- or more. , The minister of rail- ways and canals stated in a_ public speech, a few. days. ago, that there was net any probability that the gov- ernment would go on with either the Welland or the Georgian bay canals next year. Following is a list of American freight vessels of the great lakes which cannot pass through the Welland canal: Name of vessel. Keel, ft. Sch. -AbySSinia" - is os cc bere ee we wees Str; Adams; Thomas. °<-- 5 oe es Str: Admital 93 cst sce es eee Stree "Adriatic --.4 sees ee ees eee : Sir. Albright, John J... .u 5... cagawee Str: "Alpertia 355-5. erase «5 600 seb sala Str.. Alva. 1-1-6 faces stray Str. Amazon ..,.054.-+--- ae Str. Amazonas "......+..+- eee ees ae Str; Ames, . Ward 2. 326.2 es ee ex Str. © Andaste 7 642): oes ope ee « Str. Andrews, Me 00. 0556s Sch. Antrim: (2.2015 ea oe ee Str: Armour, P. Di .--..+--cssee-e. Str. Ashley, J. S. .--.. ee aes a hene Sch: Athens .0 3 ccces > oe ope eee Str: Auburn. 61635 ee ee Sch. Anrota = <..4-% one eee