The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

IN THE ENGINE ROOM. A SHIP WITH FORTY-EIGHT BOILERS. “Where large boiler power and high pressure are re- quired it has become the practice to divide the boiler plant into many small units, instead of fewer boilers of larger size. While this may be essential or desirable from the necessity of keeping members or details of small diameter where high pressure are used, it is ob- jectionable from some practical points of view. It very thtch increases the cost of installation, for it is more expensive to make 20 small boilers than ten of double their capacity; it increases the number of details re- quired, for each unit mtist have its own valves and fit- tings, and it takes more room in the ship, for two boil- érs, each of a given capacity, can not be put in the space of one boiler of their combined capacity. It also very greatly increases the expense of attendance and maini fenance, for doubling the number of units ina steel plant requires that each boiler be closely watched as to its performance. It should also increase the consump- tion of fuel in some degree; we doubt if the evaporative éfficiency of 300 tons of coal burned: under 20 boilers is as high as the same quantity burned under ten boilers. “ These observations have been induced by the fact that an English warship now building isto have no less than 48 separate boilers in her. There are in them 7,200 tubes, and consequently 14,400 tube ends to keep tight; consider further, as previously remarked, that each boiler must have its own outlet ‘and inlet valves, fit- tings, appurtenances and belongings, and. we get some idea of what is entailed by putting many small boilers into a vessel. FIRING STEAM BOILERS. _ If an engineer must hire the fireman, let him look first for a sober man; next see that he is neat, careful and teliable; next ascertain if he wants to'learn something new each day. If the man isa ‘‘ know-it-all” it will not pay to take him into the fire room. No matter what his other qualifications may be, he will not prove a financial success. His introduction to the coal pile will mean a considerable hole in the owner’s pocket book. The new fireman, if he understands his business, and especially if he has a new boiler, will start a slow fire. He will be easy on that boiler for a day or two; he will start the fire with wood, if possible, as that fuel can be regulated closer than any other form. For a medium sized boiler he will be very lazy in get- ting up steam ‘the first day. Probably three or four hours will be consumed in getting up the pressure. While this is being done he will have a good look at every seam and every rivet that is within his reach. “He will take pains to let the air out of the boiler as soon as the pressure begins to ‘start. This is easily done by leaving a gauge cock ortwo open, or by raising the _ safety valve if the lever variety is used. After the new boiler has been gradually worked up to a presstire, he will let it stand an hour or two, then open the blow-off at surface, and give a chance for all the ‘oil and light dirt torun out. After this the boiler may “be put to work in earnest, and if the above directions be followed he will have very little trouble from leaky seains or tubes. FIRING WITH COAL. A sign of bad combustion when burning coalisa red flame in the furnace. A bright flame is to be desired, -and the brighter the flame the higher the temperature “of combustion. The higher the temperature of com- bustion, the more economical is the burning of the fuel. It is good practice to make the top of coal surface slight- ly saucer-shaped.. This is for the purpose of filling the corners and edges of the grate so as to stop any ingress --of cold air, . Coal burns away very quickly at the edges of a grate,and isapt to leave holes through whicha .considerable amount of cold air finds its way. If the edges of the grate are covered a little deeper than the center, and the covering kept so there will be little trouble from air holes around the edges. Anthracite coal should be thrown on the grate very evenly; ‘‘three, lumps thick” is the rule. When the lower lumpor layer is supposed to be very nearly consumed, the next layer is at : its height of combustion and is doing its maximum work ; “the top layer is of fresh coal, just beginning to ignite. By the time itis fully burning, the bottom layer will have been entirely decomposed, and another layer of THE MARINE RECORD. fresh coal has been ‘placed on top. In practice, of course, it is not possible to get the live coal three layers deep, but this is the theoretical result which is to be worked for. Open the furnace door as little as possible; make all the air that goes into the furnace pass up into the grates. In burning bituminous coal these precautions are not necessary ; with that variety of fuel a shovelful of coal can be put in each place instead of a thin sprink- ling, as is necessary with anthracite. The bituminous coal fire, however, requires frequent shaking up, as it frequently cakes together into a hard mass through which fire cannot pass. re LITERARY NOTICES. Mrs. Humphry Ward’s new novel, upon which she has been at work for the past two years, will be called “ Sir George Tressady.’’ It will appear as a serial in The Century beginning with November. : The government list of beacons, buoys and daymarks in the United States on the Northern Lakes and Rivers, corrected to the opening of navigation, 1895, has just been published and will be sent free of charge to any shipmaster., The Hydrographic Office will furnish lists of changes up to August 1, upon application. The September number of Cassier’s. Magazine will contain a profusely illustrated article on ‘‘Lake Steam- ships for Ocean Traffic,’ from the pen of Mr. Joseph R. Oldham, of Cleveland. The paper will be especially in- teresting, as appearing just prior to the Deep Water- ways Convention, in Cleveland, and _ Cassier’s will un- doubtedly have a call fora number of extra copies on the lakes. Whitworth Bros. No. 60 High St., Cleveland, have just issued their 1895-6 edition of their wall and pocket map and street guide of the City of Cleveland. This map is prepared on the same standard of accuracy and completeness which has made these maps a feature in the market heretofore, and is meeting with ready sale. The same firm is engaged on the publication of a joint directory and maps of Elyria and Lorain, which will be issued in a few weeks. A capital feature of Harper’s Weekly in the imme- diate future will be a series of humorous papers entitled ‘“‘A House-Boat on the Styx,’’ written by John Kendrick Bangs and illustrated by Peter Newell. Adventures and conversations in the lower world are the themes attacked by this brace of humorous talents, and-the dis- tinction of the defunct persons whose doings and say- ings are recorded leaves nothing to be desired. The leading article in the September Harper’s gives the impressions received. by Richard Harding Davis during a recent overland journey in Honduras, under- taken for Harper’s Magazine and Harper’s Weekly. The title is ‘Three Gringos in Central America,’” and the paper is attractively illustrated. Owen Wister,'in “The Evolution of the Cow-Puncher,”’ traces the gene- ology of the American cowboy back to the Saxon Crusades and the Cavalier. Illustrations have been made for the article by Frederic Remington. In ‘‘Notes on Indian Art’? Edwin Lord Weeks shows that the artistic spirit is still vigorous among the Hindoos, and that the best traditions of workmanship are carefully preserved. Seventeen illustrations by Mr. Weeks ac- company his text. Mark Twain relates some curious experiences in an article called, ‘‘Mental Telegraphy “Again.” The third paper in Poultney Bigelow’s ‘‘Ger- man Struggle for Liberty’’ series describes the demoral- ization of Prussia through the cowardice and treason of the nobles, the revival of patriotism among ‘the people through the efforts of Nettlebeck, Schill, Gneisenau and Scharnhorst, and the famous conference at Erfurt, at which Napoleon alternately dazzled and insulted the Czar arid the German pririces. In ‘‘The Story of a song’’ David Graham Adee gives the history of ‘‘Malbrouk s’en va-t-en guerre,” the song that Trilby sang at her Paris debut. “‘A Fifteenth-Century Re- vival,’’ by Rev. Dr. J. H. Hobart, is an estimate of the awakening of Florence under the influence of Savon- arola. Inathoughtful paper on ‘Arabia, Islam, and the Eastern Question,” Dr. Wm. H. Thomson makes clear the reasons for the anomalous position of the Turk in Kurope, and shows that the peril of the Armenian is not the result of local or temporary hatred, but of a racial and religious fanaticism which has characterized the Moslem from the beginning. AN EXTENSION. Mr. Hunter, of the firm mentioned below, has paid — several business visits to Cleveland, Chicago and other — lake ports, and has made a number of friends on fresh — water, all of whom will be interested in the following — from Fair Play: The firm of C. S. Swan & Hunter is about to be con- verted into a Limited Liability Co,, with a view ot fur- ther developing and extending the business, The board of directors will consist of the following, but one or more of the managers may be added after a short time: Mr. Geo. P. Hunter, chairman, Mr. J. Price, T.iBe (mayor of Jarrow), Mr. T. H. Bainbridge, J. P., (director — of Consett Iron Co), Mr. W. Denton and Mr. C,S. Swan, The capital is fixed at £200,000, and the directors will hold all the shares, which are for the shipbuilding yard alone, not the engine works. The managers will re- main as at present, namely: Mr. R. Hudson, Mr. E. W. De Russett, M. I. C. E., and Mr. R. F. Hodge. Con- cerning this change a correspondent writes: “I under-_ stand that the firm of Swan & Hunter is to be floated as a private Limited Liability Co., and that Mr. John Price, the late general manager of Palmer’s Shipbuild- ing Co., will have a seat at the board, as _ will also his nephew, Mr. W. Denton, at present assistant general manager of Palmer’s Co. Rumors have been afloat for some time past as to Mr. Price’s probable connection with the above concern, but itis only within the last few days that it has been confirmed. The shipbuilding yard of Messrs. Swan & Hunter, of which for many years Mr. Hunter has been the sole head, has of late been very greatly improved, and a large number of new machines have been added, making it one of the best equipped concerns on the Tyne. Considerable interest is being manifested in Tyneside circles as to the changes which are taking place, and also who is likely to go to Jarrow.”’ errr ~ ee a NEWLY ENROLLED TONNAGE. Following isa list of lake vessels to which official numbers and signal letters have been assigned by the Commissioner of Navigation, for the week ended Aug. 17: : TONNAGE. Official Rig, Name. —_____.______| Home Port. | Where Built. No, Gross, | Net. 107,184|St. s: |Alma C, 11.86| § 05] Detroit Detroit 93.311|St. s. |HenryH Boyd| 3673) 24.98] Erie. Buffalo 67.314|Bge, |No 2 (W.&M.,j] 1,548.79] 1,462.36] Chicago W. Bay City — rE > + a TRADE NOTES. Att, Charts and Sailing Directions published by the Hydrographic Office, can be procured at the office of THE MARINE RECORD, 144 Superior street, Cleveland. — The Ransome Subway Co. has just issued a new illus- trated catalogue showing the merits of the monolithic irrigation canals, tunnels, sewer and water pipes, elec- tric and cable conduits. ; Two new steamships are being built by the Cramps. One is the Comanche, for the Clyde Line, and the other ‘the Curacoa, for Bolton, Bliss & Dallett, of New York, to run on the Red D. Line. The attention of contractors is called to an advertise- ment on another page, in which Major M. B. Adams asks for bids at Detroit, on a fog signal house on the north pier at Sheboygan, Wis. ‘Red Lead, and How to Uselt,’’ is the title of an in- teresting little pamphlet circulated by the National ~ Lead Co., No. 1 Broadway, N. Y. Another well-written book of their gratuitous issue is ‘‘Concerning Babbitt and Anti-Friction Metals.’’ The Continental Iron works, West and Calyer streets, Brooklyn, N. Y., has recently obtained orders for 12 Morrison Suspension Furnaces, six of which are to go to the W. & A. Fletcher Co., and six to the Morgan Iron Works, to be used in boilers of two freight steamers being built at Roach’s yard, Chester, for the Vermont Central Railroad. c C. Endress & Sons, of White Fish Point, write as fol- lows to H. G. Trout, of Buffalo, under date of August 16: “The wheel you furnished for tug K. E. Endress has been thoroughly tried, and we are more than pleased with the results. When we ordered the wheel we did — not expect anything better than what she had on, but the tug is now making a mile an hour better time, and backs fully as well if not better than the old wheel.”? _ The Calumet Iron & Steel Co., of Chicago, has leased its furnace at Cummings, South Chicago, to the Calu- met Furnace Co., which -was incorporated a few days ago by F. S. Wheeler, H. K. Tenney and E. I. Toiot, with a capital stock of $50,000. The furnace is now be- ing thoroughly overhauled and will be ready to go into blast by the last of the month. It has a capacity of | about 1,000 tons a week, and will be run either on bes: ‘semer or foundry.