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A SIMPLE TRAP. fgets (SEE ILLUSTRATION.) - We illustrate what is called by the makers, for the sake of a name, the Diamond trap. This is a simple and inexpensive device specially designed for automat- ically discharging the water of condensation in car- heating, heaters in rubber works, and similar places where, say 500 or 1,000 feet of 3( inch or 1 inch pipe isto be taken care of. The steam is to be connected to the opening D and the discharge takes place at the outlet Z. To adjust the valve for service steam is first allowed to blow through until the entire valve is thoroughly ky ice heated. The head 4 with the expanding plug Cis then screwed down, and fastens the plug permanently in position, and the outer cap is screwed down tightly over all. While the chamber is filled with steam the valve will remain closed, but as the water collects in it, the temperature will fall, the plug C will contract, be- ing made of special material for this service, and the water will flow out until the steam arrives again, when the yalve will instantly close. The diamond trap is made by Jenkins Bros., 71 John street, New York. DO ea - GREAT TRUTHS ELOQUENTLY SPOKEN. In discussing American shipbuilding, at a recent din- ner in New York, Charles H. Cramp took the position that no nation can be considered commercially indepen- dent unless it has a merchant marine and an adequte navy to defendit. He says we are to-day practically ‘in subjection to the trade impulses of Great Britain,’’ and will not be independent of her until the American flag’ is restored to the high seas. He advocates some system of government aid to this industry, because other nations give aid to theirs, and also because we give aid to the internal commerce of the country by liberal subsidies to railroads for carrying the mails. He says that Great Britain recognizes the fact that a ship carrying her flag to other countries is something more than the private property of the owner. Itisa part of the country itself, and the nation has a share in the ownership of such property. He says that except for the insistance of Secretaries Whitney and Tracy _ that our new warships should be built here, although the cost would be greatly enhanced at first, the ship- building industry of this country would be practically prostrate. He declares that as a result of this a ship can now be built here at only a trifle more in cost than in England, and that ship for ship we can produce better vessels. He says that without goverument aid our merchant marine cannot be revived quickly, and that its prostration is not due to our obsolete navigation laws, because these laws were in effect when the ship- ping industry was at its greatest prosperity and nearly equaled that of Great Britain. If this aid is not given, Mr. Cramp says, the industry must revive very slowly as we require wealth; but it will be so slow that it is THE MARINE RECORD. doubtful if a naval building program will keep the yards in a state of efficiency to build the vessels. He closes with a burst that is somewhat eloquent : ““A fine specimen of marine architecture is always a standing lesson in patriotism. It is required to display the flag of its country. Asit passes from port to port it is more than a mere floating vehicle for commerce. It is a bit of its nation’s soil. Around its existence and its journeyings the romance of travel and the dignity of nationality centre. It speaks of home. to the citizen in foreign lands. It means a prosperity for those at home and abroad. No patriotic citizen should relax his efforts to secure a revival of this industry in some form or other.’’ ED LAST QUARTER OF 1895. Commissioner Eugene T. Chamberlain, of the Bureau of Navigation, favors THE RECORD with the following figures relating to the number of steam vessels built in the United States, and officially numbered, as shown by the records of the bureau, during the quarter ended De- cember 31, 1895. The Great Lakes do not make as good a showing as usual, owing to the fact that all building is done with a view to completion not later than the third quarter of the year, in order to get the benefit of at least apart of the navigation season. The Atlantic and Gulf coasts show a decided improvement in all classes of ton- nage. The figures are as follows: PREVIOUS QUARTER. QUARTER ENDED Dec. 31. No. | Gross Tons.| No. | Gross Tons. mn ELECTRIC FERRY BOATS. Hight small electric ferry boats were put into service some time ago at Bergen, {Norway, to replace the old inadequate row-boat system, and dfford interesting evidence of the growing appreciation of electric motor possibilities. The boats are about 16 feet long, of 6% feet beam, and 2% feet draught, and havea displace- ment of about 6 tons, They are built symmetrically fore and aft, and are provided with a screw and rudder at each end. The screws are on a common shaft, direct coupled to the motor, which is series-wound, weighs about 600 pounds, and is rated at three horse- power. It is placed in the middle of the boat under the flooring. The storage batteries are placed partly under the flooring and partly under the seats. The plates of each battery weigh about 3,000 pounds, and have a capacity of about 20,000 watt-hours. The battery itself consists of 32 cells in series, and weighs altogether about 5,280 pounds. The average speed, with a power of 2,300 watts, is about five miles an hour. Each boat runs about 37% miles a day, and about 1,800 passengers, on the average, have been carried by the ferry each day. After the day’s work is over the boats return to the charging station, where the accumulators are charged during the night, and the necessary cleaning is done and repairs made. The charging station is fitted with a compound portable steam engine, a dynamo of 30 horse-power, and a suitable switchboard. During eight months’ run of uninterrupted operation the plant is said to have proved excellent in every respect. EB OS —eE Total Sai SGhombek sow 3 9,609.69 166. s . * tsi 5s | wins. | 92 | sseasir _P4es in ordinary at Sarnia are the McRea, Crawford, ’ SS ee ee ee a) ei ee Grand Totaly. .ccc ss\e58 oc)128 29,335.73 200 59,059.89 = WOOD. TRON. STEEL. PE RTESE Sen [OTANI ee < TOTAL. SAIL. STEAM. STEAM. STEAM. No. | Gross. | No. | Gross. No. | Gross. || No. | Gross. No. | Gross. ATTAIN DL AiO Cr Ls ec G Shanon tp GMnaerd ed Geeh coe ene es 59 7,458.76 12 2,842.85 vee web seececeee 10 5,996.66 81 16,298.27 PCT cio e is eataah ik igle Soa aienesa ie eca wine leo cio Mia ties Cele ehavareie rete stare 12 2,088.84 7 £O90B occa: aucun een 1 691.05 20 3,275.94 GAT AKON. rc ca ec ete Orta tts mei eee Re dinie Poon SaaS eee 2 62.09 3 2,091.83 1. |. 1,988.12 3 2,816.15 9 6,908.19 WOSLETISRIVERS 203) Sek iemietc vs ees: es PD Sh ty AE pecad RN a Lee Tor a a 18 2,808,988" kaw sce choae hen Gee ol Gace melee escmes 18 2,853.33 731 9,609.69 ' 40 | 8,984.06" 1 | 1,988.12 " 14 | 9,503.86 Il 198 | 9992.5.78 a QUERIES AND ANSWERS. & CONSTRUCTION USED IN THE GREAT EASTERN. To the Editor of The Marine Record: Please give, through the columns of your paper, a statement of the material used in the construction of the Great Bastern. We ask the above question to settle an argument. Capt. F. Ly. W. Au Gres, Mich., Dec. 31,1895. The dimension of the Great Eastern, which was built in 1853, were 692 feet in the upper deck, 680 feet between -perpendiculars, 82 feet beam, and 118 feet breadth over the paddleboxes; depth 60 feet, or 70 feet to top of bul- warks. The bottom was flat, and 40 feet wide, without keel. The framing included 35 webs of plate iron. three feet deep, extending from end to end o¢ the ship, spaced 3 to 5 feet, and crosswebs of similar strength, connecting these at intervals. A donble skin of plate outside and inside these ribs converted the whole into a cellular structure similar .to the bottoms of the large vessels built by Wheeler & Co, of Bay City, and some of the output of the Globe shipyard, Cleveland. ‘There were ten watertight bulkheads, extending athwart- ships, and fore-and-aft bulkheads increased the number of compartments, The paddle engines had four boilers, each with 400 brass tubes; there were four engines, with cylinders 74 inches in diameter by 14 feet stroke of piston. The paddle wheels were 56 feet in diameter by 13 feet deep, with 30 radii. . The screw engines had six boilers. There were also four of these engines, 84 inches in diameter by 48 inch stroke. ‘The fuel bunkers had a capacity of 14,000 tons, and the smoke ascended through five funnels, each 100 feet high by 6 inches in diameter. She was expected to carry, beside her full quota of fuel, 5,000 tons of freight and 1,000 passengers. She had six masts, three of them iron, carrying 7,000 yards of sail. The weight of the material in her was about 4,600 tons, and after her varied and unprofitable career, was sold for junk. rl 9 ei +e Mussrs. IRVING BLOUNT, nautical expert at the New York Hydrographic Office, and John Martin, C,. E., have opened a nautical school at Room 611, No. 44-46 Broadway, New York. BUFFALO STEEL PLATE BELLOWS FORGE. (SEE ILLUSTRATION.) The Buffalo Forge Co’s portable forge, operated by fan blast, is well known among boiler works, bridge works and other structural iron workers. -The makers have recently added a forgein which the blast is fur- nished by bellows, and affirm that they have freed it from the drawbacks that they have been found hereto- fore in bellows forges, namely: The liability to explo- sions of gas burning out the bellows; burning up and cracking of leather; irregular blast and erratic action. Double acting gas is prevented by a new escape valve. The barrel-shaped body of the forge is made of heavy rolled steel, reinforced at top and bottom and put to- gether in such a manner that it will stand the rough handling incident to bridge, ship and other out-door con- struction work. The bellows are made of oak-tanned leather, seamed. ‘The total height to top of bowl is 30 inches, and the diameter is 19 inches. ‘The general con- tour of the forge is such as to secure great strength, combined with compactness. . -eco“l> es a THE MARINE RECOBD is the repository for all en- gineering and nautical publications. Hydrographic charts always on hand.