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— MARINE REVIEW. USE OF CELLULOSE ON WARSHIPS. The cellulose cofferdam belt, as protection to stability, is now a per- manent fixture in American warship construction. Every battleship built in the past five years carries a 3-ft. belt of corn pith cellulose, packed to a density of about 8 lbs. to the cubic ft. and worked along both sides, above the protective deck, for the entire length of a ship. The peerless battleships Kearsarge and Kentucky, which were recently turned over to the government by the Newport News Ship Building & Dry Dock Co., were supplied with the protective belt of corn pith, and so are dll the battleships now building. The six new armored cruisers and five new battleships, for which the awards kave just been made, will be supplied with belts of this specially prepared cellulose, 3 ft. wide. In the plans for these ships, and alsu for the three new protective cruisers for which bids will be opened Feb. 1, provision was made for the corn pith belt and unless some invention or discovery of the future better serves the same purpose this waste farm product will be utilized, probably, forever. Curiously enough, the material for this improvement in the construction of warships of the heavier class comes, not from the seaboard products, but from the waste of western farms. Its value lies in the fact that it will prevent a vessel’s fighting ability from being destroyed even after she has been pierced in a dozen places. The value of some light substance to preserve the stability of armored vessels by displacing water that might enter a projectile had been appreciated by the constructors of the navy ever since Uncle Sam com- menced to build steel armored ships. The French, to meet this require- ment, originated the use of cellulose, which, when fired into and pierced, swells up under the influence of the water with which it comes in con- tact and makes further inflow impossible. It was adopted in the American navy after several trials, but the cellulose we use today in our ships is noi manufactured from the same material which the French used. Our cruisers were the first to be supplied with the simple cellulose belt. The Columbia, New York and Olympia have protective decks of ample strength to keep out the shells of vessels they are liable to engage, while their stability is further protected by belts of the cellulose along the edges. Of course, improvements are being made all the time and the cellulose belts in the new battleships and cruisers will represent the very latest American ideas in the development of this important feature of warship construction. No thoroughly satisfactory cellulose material for this purpose was dis- covered, however, until the pith of cornstalks was utilized in its manufac- ture. The only perfect obturator, found, thus far, is corn pith. It will absolutely prevent the inflow of water through an opening made by an 8-in. shell. It is thoroughly fire-proof, when chemically treated, and meets the requirements of the situation in every way. Maize, or Indian corn, is exclusively an American product, this giving us an advantage over all nations.. In the western fields, this country has the best material in the world for imparting this sort of strength to warships. For keeping out water a cellulose belt of three feet, the uniform width in our navy, may be said to be as efficient as a 6-in. belt of steel, so that the stability [January 17, a a | of our warships can be protected, when there is back of it a good pro- tective deck to save the vitals 100 tons of corn pith of cellulose where 1,000 tons of steel would be required. In vessels of high speed, where weight is needed for machinery and the armor belt cannot be carried, cellulose is used to preserve the stability. In battleships thick armor is used amidships and a protective deck and cellulose belt beyond the limits of this armor. The use of corn pith for this purpose was first suggested by Prof. Mark W. Marsden, who had observed its remarkable absorbent qualities, He brought the matter to the attention of the Cramps, and at their sug- gestion, he devised an apparatus for separating the pitch from the stalk. In 1895, the naval authorities, after discussing the matter, were in- duced to make a test of the new process. A 250-lb. projectile was fired through a steel cofferdam packed with cellulose 3 ft. thick. A hole a foot in diameter was made in the structure. Water was immediately turned on and continued for an hour, at the end of which time not a drop had gone through. The packing at the hole in the rear of the plate was not even dampened. The cocoa cellulose, tested at the same time, failed to meet these requirements. Since then the use of corn pith has been adopted in all of Uncle Sam’s naval construction. The cellulose is packed in the cofferdam space on a warship between the outer and inner walls. A belt of this material 3 ft. thick backs up the armor belt, which extends 6 ft. above the water line and about the same distance below, running entirely around the vessel, but tapering in thick- ness at the ends. Fifty tons of cellulose, in its final state, are required to equip a vessel like the battleship Illinois, which is soon to have her trial trip, and this is computed to equal 500 tons of steel in adding to the de- fensive strength of the ship. About 15 tons of raw material are required to produce one ton of cellulose. To supply this important feature in the construction of each of, the new 15,000-ton battleships, therefore, will require more than 1,000 tons of stalks, or the product of more than 300 acres of corn land. Just as corn pith enables the fighting ships to keep afloat, even after holes have been punched in their sides, it may be utilized to add to the safety of passengers and freight ships. The Marsden Cellu- lose Co. recently contemplated establishing one of their plants at New- port News, with the idea of filling from it the orders of the Newport News Ship Building and Dry Dock Co. for the material it uses on war- ships built at Newport News, but negotiations did not turn out as ex- pected and the company built a plant at West Point, on the York river. Contains NO ZINC nor any weaken- ing metal. Send for Booklet with treatise on ‘‘Electrolysis of Condenser Tubes.”’ Benedict & Burpham Mfg. Co., wits and offices, Waterbury Conn. New York, 253 Bd'wy. Roston, 172 High St. Chicago, Cor. Lake & Clark Sts INcCN Y BELLEVILLE GENERATORS Grand Prix 188° Originated 1849 Hors Concours 1900 Latest Improvements 1896 Number of Marine Leagues made each year by Steamships of the Messageries Maritimes Co., Provided with Belleville Generators—Since their Adoption in the Service. Year Australian] Polynesien hin oe ROS Oss ee iss es 22,576 820 POO ae eon 22,749 22,777 eo Pd ore cn ee ar aE 22,749 22,801 23,274 7,753 LOS ere Se a Re eee 22,793 22,781 22,762 22,749 EES oo eae 22,813 22,789 22,858 22,813 SS RR one 8 22,891 22,922 22,913 22,936 ECS Ss es 4 as ea 23,178 30,906 23,232 23,183 OY ES Ce Se ae a 22,750 23,202 30,912 23,185 TOS Secs ra ange ea 23,646 23,178 23,184 23,199 Ess ee ees vio sc soos es 23,178 23,205 22,477 30,135 (SOR TES Es sas ear 229,323 | 215,381 | 191,680] 175,953 Ernest re Simons Chili 20,745 20,842 20,082 108,600 Cordillere Annam 12,567 13,629 9,571 20,735 | 21,051 13,572 25,370 21.119 21,080 21,080 21,318 7,569 20,926 20,956 18,285 14,669 7,628 22,238 7,628 39,603 97,998 76,727 ATELIERS ET CHANTIERS DE L’ERMITAGE, A ST DENIS (SEINE), FRANCE. WORKS AND YARDS OF L’ERMITAGE, ST. DENIS (SEINE), FRANCE. TELEGRAPHIC ADDRESS: BELLEVILLE, SAINT DENIS, SUR SEINE,