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February, 1910 PRODIGIOUS SENSATION. The Baltimore News Has Penetrated the Mystery of the New Bull Steamship. Hull No. 107, now rapidly nearing comple- tion, will leave the ways of the Maryland Steel Co., the latter part of February. This vessel is being built under the new system of ship building, called the Isherwood sys- tem, so named after an Englishman in the navy department of that country. This sys- tem of building has the horizontal beam, the beams running parallel with the bulkhead in- stead of vertical. The boat, however, will have to pass the United States government and Lloyds inspection. Her dimensions will be 325 ft. length over all, 44 ft. beam, 261% ft. depth and have a mean draft of 19 ft. She will have a triple expansion engine, and while a single screw steamer, she will be schooner rigged, having two masts, The boat when completed will be turned over to the A, H,. Bull Steamship Co., New York.--Baltimore News. The importance of this announce- ment can hardly 'be overestimated. Particulars regarding the construction of this ship have been most carefully guarded and have been restricted en- tirely to naval architects, engineers and those most interested in the sub- ject, and 'we are able to announce that it was only through the exercise of talent of the very highest order that the secret- has been The British Admiralty have rested se- cure in the assumption that its knowl- ege of the formula was exclusive, but it is now lbelieved that Germany has also obtained possession and war is likely to break out at any moment. It is reported that Isherwood has not only lost his job in the navy depart- ment but has been tried and convict- ed of lese majeste and sentenced for 99 years to reading proof on technical subjects on the daily papers. It is said that a demand for royalty has been made upon the American builders, which, believing in a repub- lican form of government, they have indignantly refused, saying "not one cent for tribute' and also "a tbas les tyrants" which means "we'll see you further." It is rumored also that a ship is being constructed on the great lakes on this system and this is believed to be a technical violation of the Clayton- Bulwer treaty which is now in very bad condition and in need of repairs. Although the 'battleship Wolverine is safely frozen in at Erie, her officers are cool and look for the worst, which is to 'be ordered into active service next June or July. The situation on the whole is extremely critical and now is the time for all good citizens, "ete. It will readily be understood that the effects of this discovery are far reaching. In the method of construc- tion followed hitherto the _ vertical uncovered.@e "TAE MARINE. REVIEW beams standing upon the bulkheads imposed severe strains upon the latter and they had to be made watertight which of course in turn made doors necessary. Breast hooks and_ tran- soms also had to be provided and rig- idly connected by keelsons and tri- antic stays. The latter were especial- ly required and it is said their weak- ness caused the loss of the Republic as the pressure of the water forced the 'hold stringers clean through the shear strake and it was this that real- ly led to the sending out of the fa- mous P. D. Q. signal. These difficul- ties are avoided by the use of the hor- izontal beam and it is now possible to carry ballast in the water bottom and thus remove the pressure from the balkheads.'; Nor. is: this, all.) The re moval of the intercostals brings the taffrail, and consequently the center of gravity, further forward, thus favor- ing the location of the metacenter and adding materially to the speed of the ship. It is confidently expected that negative slip will no longer be a Uto- pian dream. : The fitting of two-masted schooner rig to a single-screw steamer is also interesting. It has always been con- sidered heretofore that a schooner rig demanded as many screws as masts, some of the six and-seven masted schooners having an equal number of propellers. Doubtless more will be learned of this new departure later. Meantime, in view of the prevailing excitement it is reassuring to know that the approval of United States In- spection is yet to be had. We beg to assure our readers that the well known high standing of our inspection ser- vice is a guaranty that if the new sys- "tem endures the ordeal of their scrut- iny it may be taken for granted that they find no reason for opposing it. SUCCESS OF THE MONITORIA. Dealing with the Monitor design of vessel with corrugations along the side of the hull, the following statement by the Ericsson Shipping Co., concerning the performance of their steamship Monitoria, the first vessel constructed to this design, is published. "Since her loaded trial on Aug. 13, the Monitoria has made the following trips: Wear to Stugsund, Sweden;: Sandvik to Gars- ton; Penorth to Naples, and is now on a voyage to a European port from Tunis. On the voyage to Garston she carried a cargo of pit props, including -a deck load 16 ft. high, and although she encountered very rough weather, the deck cargo never moved. On these trips, under normal conditions, the vessel has averaged about eight and one-half knots 55 speed on a daily consumption of about 11% tons of ordinary unscreened bunk- ers, and has carried 3,300 tons of cargo and bunkers on 18 ft. draught of water. A marked: feature has been the splendid sea qualities of the vessel in bad weather. Through the action of the cor- rugations it has been possible to main- tain a much better speed than with tramp steamers of the ordinary form of construction, and the period of roll has been considerably reduced--in fact, the. vessel's behavior in a heavy sea- way is ideal. The slip of the propeller is also materially reduced, this being from 3 to 6 per cent instead of from 12 to 15 per cent. Everything that was expected of the steamer has now been proved by actual experience, and it is anticipated that before long a further improvement in speed will be shown, or a still smaller consumption of coal." WORLD'S LARGEST GRAVING DOCK. The port of Glasgow, Scotland, has decided to provide a new graving dock, which in regard to dimensions will be the largest in the world. The projected dock is to have an inside length of 1,020 ft, an entrance width of 100 ft., and a depth on the sill at average high water of spring tides of 36 ft. It is to be in two divisions, one of 420 ft. in the inner end, and one of 600 ft. nearest the entrance. It is felt that this dock will be a great asset to the Clyde as a shipbuilding center, since it will not only meet the requirements of the Admiralty as regards the super-Dread- nought-battleships and cruisers, but will also be capable of accommodating the future Lusitanias which will doubtless © be launched on the Clyde. Being the largest dock of its kind in the world, it will take some five or six years to complete. For the purpose of compar- ison it may be mentioned that the Her- culanian No. 2 dock at Liverpool and the Birkenhead No. 1 graving dock are each 930 ft. in length, the Canada grav- ing dock at Liverpool 925 ft., the Clyde -- Trust No. 3 dock 880 ft. the new dock at Southampton 875 ft. and the new Belfast graving dock 825 ft. PACIFIC MAIL STEAMERS WILL NOT GO TO SEATTLE. A report has been circulated to the effect that upon the completion of the harbor improvements of the Oregon & Washington railroad (Harriman lines) at Seattle, the,steamers of the Pacific Mail Steamship Co., operating between San Francisco and the Orient would make Seattle their eastern terminus, in- stead of San Francisco. This report has been authoritatively denied. Other arrangements will be made for Harri- man steamship service from Seattle.