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September, 1910 those of the present time, is a change a little hard to' appreciate, for' it 'is estimated that the work of the world is performed by steam engines main- ly, probably amounting to 150,000,000 H. P. and equivalent to the working power of several times the population of the globe, if employed in manual labor. The wonderful, growth of the steam engine is further evidenced by a let- ter recently received from the Pen- berthy Injector Co., of Detroit, stat- ipo that on March 29, [910) Injector No. 600,000 was stamped and recorded 'ready for delivery. When one- 'stops to consider that the above company, the largest manufacturers of injectors, in the world, has since 1887 made 600,000 of their .automatic injectors, one obtains some idea of the large horsepower of the boilers which must be in operation at the present time, for it has been carefully estimated that 600,000 (size 2%-in.) GG Penberthy injectors would force into a _ boiler against 90 to 100 lbs. pressure over 1-3 of the amount of water that is constantly going over Niagara Falls, which is approximately 125,000,000 to 150,000,000 gallons per minute. This when transformed to steam at 70 |b. pressure is sufficient to develop pow- er amounting to approximately 700,- 748,661 horsepower, or very near five times the estimated horsepower of the world's steam machinery. Should the growth of steam power increase in the next hundred years as it has in the past, we will have as a result a combined horsepower cap- able of performing work the magnit- ude of which would be so great as to be almost inconceivable to the aver- age person of today. The likelihood of the development in steam power during the next century, however, is not so much in a larger number of engines and boilers, although this is, through the natural growth of the Universe, inevitable to a certain ex- tent, but rather in an increased ef- ficiency in those power plants which are to replace those 'that, because of age and wear, are 'éonstantly being discarded. Motor-Driven Warships The report that the British admiralty has decided to try the experiment of a motor-driven battleship, with internal combustion engines, though not offi- Clally confirmed, has naturally aroused the keenest interest in naval and engin- fering circles. The admiralty is main- taining a strict reserve as to the de- velopments contemplated, but in the TAE MarRINe REVIEW best of informed circles the belief is that the first step will be to equip a torpedo boat destroyer, and at a later date one of the smaller class of cruis- ers. Though some doubts are held as to the accuracy of the report relating to a motor-driven battleship, there is every reason to believe that the re-: markable advance made in the efficien- cy of motor engines thas engaged the serious attention of the admiralty, and the fact that the Hamburg-American Line has ordered a 9,000-ton steamer for their Atlantic trade, has, naturally enough, stimulated interest in this method of propulsion for large ves- sels. It is clear that even if the ad- miralty have not gone to the length of actually deciding to lay down a battle- ship on these lines, a development of this nature is absolutely certain in the near future. One of the foremost marine motor engineers in' Britain has stated that, though he was unaware of what were the real intentions of the British ad- -miralty in regard to their reported in- tention to build a marine motor battle- ship, fitted with internal combustion engines, he had heard from a good source that an internal combustion en- gine of 10,000 H. P. had been ordered by the admiralty. The difficulty of constructing a satisfactory engine of such power, he pointed out, was ex- tremely great. To drive a battleship of the Dreadnaught type, he added, en- zines. 'of not Jess than 30,000 Hy P. would be necessary, but should these be successfully produced, their install- ment on a warship in the place of the existing machinery would undoubtedly effect a valuable saving in weight and space. It was, however, unlikely that the British admiralty would put gas engines into a battleship or big cruiser until this type of engine had been brought to much greater perfection than at present. A naval correspondent of the Lon- don Standard also says: "The following facts, which I have every reason to believe are substantial- ly correct, have come tomy knowledge. I believe they furnish the real explana- tion of the rumor current at Ports- mouth that a motor-driven battleship is to be constructed. A set of gas en- gines of 20,000 H. P. has been built in Lancashire. They are to be run ex- perimentally for about a year. After they have run some three months, and provided that the running promises success, a second set of engines 1s to be constructed' One of the new 'Town' class of cruisers has been, al- ternately designed to receive gas en- gin TA Should the experimental gas engine running proceed satisfactorily, then the ing es instead of a steam installation. 373 . new set will be fitted in the cruiser. In such case she would be running in about eighteen months from now." Additional evidence that the admir- alty have something big up their sleeve is the fact that the successor to H. M. S. Orion on the building slip will not be commenced until the new year. This delay is so unusual as to have caused much comment for a long time, and the government has been greatly blamed locally. But if the warship to be' next built at Portsmouth is to be the subject of an epoch-making depart- ure then the delay explains itself quite naturally. It is noteworthy, too, that at all our great naval ports huge and well-protected oil tanks have been com- pleted to store tens of thousands of tons of oil fuel, and mooring jetties erected alongside at which warships may lie and receive their supplies through a flexible hose. Further, the admiralty has ascertain- ed that naval oil fuel supplied need not come from foreign countries, which would be very unsatisfactory in time of war, for, in addition to the Scotch shale-oil distilleries, big oil-producing areas are being developed in British Guiana. The important point is that nowhere in Portsmouth naval circles is the re- port of a motor-driven battleship, to be built at an early date, discredited, and, seeing how secret are all the do- ings of the admiralty nowadays, since the introduction of the Dreadnought regime, it is assumed that the state- .ment made is in substance correct. Experimental Tank for Ship Builders The Ship Building and Engineer- Employers' Federation, the wealthiest combination in Great Brit- ain, is putting forward a scheme to aid ship builders and engineers en- gaged in the construction of war- ships and high-speed passenger mer- cantile vessels. The federation pro- poses to establish in London an ex- perimental tank which would be valua- ble for all ship builders to carry out experiments with a view to securing greater stability and increased speed. A highly-skilled staff will also be. provided. The scheme,, if, accepted, as it is likely to be, by the, members of the, federation, will be inyaluable to the ship building interests of Great Britain. | iiaw Cas { 'iy 'Owing to serious illness, the family é6f Henry Fiesler, a lake engineer, re- 'siding' at Mt. Pleasant, O., are desirous of communicating with him as soon as possible.