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

FY = by Waldo shoal buoy, a red, 25-foot spar. - about 70,000 tons. LAKE SHIPPING. The report of the Commissioner of Navigation shows - that there were 698 steam vessels of 1,000 tons and over used in the United States on June 80. Vhe report brings the tonnage on the great lakes prominently to the front. There were 383 vessels of the class referred to on the northern lakes, the gross tonnage being 711,034.28. The Atlantic and Gulf Coast claimed 257 vessels, of 537,841.86 gross tons, and-the Pacific Coast 45 vessels, the gross ton- nage being 92,466.74. Cleveland does not lead in the number of vessels, but the 4 _ district, which includes Conneaut, Ashtabula, Fairport and Lorain, is foremost inthe amount of gross tonnage by The number and gross tonnage of ves- sels owned on the lakes on June 30, 1896, is $ Shown by the following. table: 9 4 Gross Tklng Districts. Number. Tonnage. Pryaieuzas &.2, . His on. ons boos on i 2bE 271,609.59 Buffalo Creek mite oe A Ribu eas Ae Ais 388 191,833,81 noo ere tte pica Cee e ener : 449 204,002.78 Detroit: ..... 5 aes se og 3 et te sarees uitie le 289 167,197.15 Milwaukee “2/3 6.00015 ope el E049" 350 91.627.23 CAO Mak ie We ois os waa ec ois os bo vine 264 71,793.40 (anatipmin wes, ... ces) Ge ik Wane + be pre ae titel 36,357.99 RIUNDETION Me che ce a ede s cep. . 164 72,577.40 SEEDS GUC Sp SRE aRE Saga ro Rao ee alate 96 46,375.00 Michigan SEAS ete OO ODL, eek 279 33,935.97 POTIE etn Sais. ro HRS Elhiwheicaecersaie.o Gdiecs 63 38,671.72 : Oswegatchie JAE A CE SAN SS SSE Ce RN 51 23,576.74 QOSWERO sm Bk. ee eqs Cy Ae a: D. aie sell 45 8,578.25 IMGT SS Ge os ew BG ORs G Sos Caos 80 27,905.99 Niaparan ee. 385 oO SS PP POPE 7 2,369:33 Vermont. oo... ccs EUNtiN Gc slates wae awe 29 4,767.58 Geneseé ......005, BAY. iti. .26a7 he all 16 1;127.78 BeApe NINCCHE | os. cccccees veeesssa ses 86 3,623.65 PeDuluth a2 vPz). SS BASU, CHIARA 80 26,078.73 Pe ves. Bevel ey Sie boii 2 57.49 otal Be apie hia ea Peat Ri bee aretha 8,333 1,824,067.58 The growth of late lake shipbuilding is displayed in the following figures: Vessels of all kinds built on the lakes during five years past: Gross iS Number. jonnaee. WKtaoi C—1: d om taoin taoin taointaoin tos Year ending June BU; lode en ee 169 45,968.98 Year ending June 30, 1893............ 175 99,271. 24 Year ending June 30, 1894...... Suis. 106 41,984.61 Year. ending June 80, 1895... .00< 8th): 93 36,352.70 Year ending June 30, 1896............ 117 108,782.38 MI Gtal ee. fies MPN. Coe kas Se 660 (332,359.91 In these statistics no account is taken of yachts, lighters, or small boats employed within the harbor of any town or city, nor of canal boats or barges employed wholly upon internal waters of a State. All vessels under five tons net are also excluded. The boats in the Champlain district are principally canal barges. HYDROGRAPHIC OFFICE REPORTS. LAKE MICHIGAN. ane shoal midway between Squaw Island reef and Lansing shoal. —The steamer Wm. A. Haskell on October 7, 1896, striick a supposed shoal in Lake Michigan midway between Squaw Island reef black spar buoy and Lansing shoal red nun buoy; there was a heavy sea running at the time. A cast of the lead gave three fathoms least depth. This spot is about two-fifths of a mile north of the usual course of steamers; the charts show there a depth of four- teen fathoms. Other steamers have reported striking in the same vicinity; therefore, mariners are cautioned to take Mee oe in that locality. rg ae ~ ST. MARY’S RIVER. Hay Lake; channel. —Hay -Lake.—Michigan. “awatdo shoal buoy.—On October 16, 1896, the steamer L. C. Wal- do, while proceeding down Hay lake, St. Mary’s river, above. Nine. Mile point. The Waldo was drawing 16 Ce. a northwest gale.was blowing at the time, which, no doubt, lowered the water about a foot. The spot has been marked Nine Mile point light bore S SE. % E. (S. 29° 30’ E.), from the buoy, dis- tant 3,800 feet. Least depth of water over the shoal is 16% feet. The shoal is about 150 feet long and 50 feet wide. LAKE HURON. Caritas bay.—North channel.—Canada.—Rocks ' loca- ted.—The following rocks in North channel, Georgian bay, have been accurately located; the datum for depths given is the mean summer level of Georgian bay, but the water is now about three feet lower than that mean level: Rock in western approach to Algoma Mills.—A small THE MARINE RECORD. rock with eight feet of water over it lies S. 74 W. (S. 10° W.) from Simon rock, distant 1,650 feet; the rock is shown on the charts as the northern of the two southwest patches, and as having 18 feet of water over it. (This rock was referred to in Notice to Mariners for the Great Lakes, No. 8 (182) of 1895). Rocks in Whalesback channel.—A sobe rock with nine feet of water over it lies SW. by W. 54 W. (S. 63° 30’ W.) from the west end of Parsons island, distant 750 feet; an- other rock, awash, lies W. % S. (S. 83° 15’ W.) from the west end of the western Mulock island, distant 825 feet; still another rock, awash, lies E. 3 N. (N. 86° E.) from the dry rocks off the southeast end of Edgar island, distant 150 feet. Rock in Aird bay.—A small souk with eight feet of water over it lies W NW. % W. (N. 68° 45’ W.) from the north end of Lister island, distant 450 feet. Rock in French river harbor entrance—A small rock with 11 feet of water over it lies E. % N. (N. 84° 15’ E.) from Lefroy Island lighthouse, distant 120 feet; this rock is almost in mid-channel and vessels may pass on either side of it. LAKE ERIE. Reported obstruction on direct course between Detroit river lighthouse and Point Pelée lighthouse.—In the early morning of November 1, 1896, the steamer Saxon struck some hard and apparently sharp obstruction on her port side, and along which she raked to somewhere near amid- ships and then cleared. The Saxon was 134 (2) miles ESE. y% E. (S. 73° E.) from Detroit river (Bar Point) light- house; the charts show four fathoms of water at this point. The Saxon’s draft was 16 feet. The steamer Cambria struck an obstruction in that vicinity on August 28, 1895. The Saxon encountered this same obstruction, presumably. Pelée passage.—Steamer struck on Grubb reef.—Cau- tion.—The steamer E. B. Hale recently struck a shoal spot of Grubb reef, Lake Erie, about 23% (2 11-16) miles from Pelée Spit (The Dummy) lighthouse; the lighthouse bore E SE. % E. (S. 71° 45’ E.) This shoal spot is graphically indicated on H. O. chart No. 1548, and has 17 feet of water , over it at normal lake level. Captains of vessels appar- ently stand too long for The Dummy light when bound eastward; they are cautioned to haul to the southward after passing. Pointe Pelée island light. RECENTLY ISSUED MARINE PATENTS. No. 573,115—Scouring-Brush for Cleaning Ships’ Bottoms. Charles P. Turner, New York, N. Y. Filed Dec. 6, 1895. Claim.—The combination with a vessel, of a bearing slidably mounted on one gunwale of the vessel, a pulley on the ‘bearing, a flexible shaft passing over the pulley, a power-transmitting device carried by the deck of the vessel and connected to the flexible shaft, a brush driven by the flexible shaft, a flexible connection attached to the brush, a winding device having a part slidably connected with the other gunwale of the vessel, and a pulley carried by the winding device over the flexible connection passes to said device, No. 573,116—Governor for Propellers. George D. Turner, Cleveland, Ohio, and George W. Cummings, Monroe Centre, Mich.; said Turner assignor to said Cummings. Filed April 9, 1896. Claim.—In a governor for a propeller, the combination with a rotatably and longitudinally moving propeller-shaft, 9. provided with a friction-disk rigidly acued to said shaft, .. of a piston-rod axially in line with , Said"*propeller-shaft ‘ and.a cylinder for operating the same.” Be In a steam-governor for a propeller, a propeller-shaft rotatably and longitudinally movable in suitable bearings, a friction-disk rigidly attached to said shaft adapted to engage a friction-shoe fixed to a standard suitably dis- posed; a spring yielding rod to prevent too sudden contact between said friction-disk and friction-shoe, a gear-wheel also attached to said propeller-shaft and having its*face of > sufficient width to always mesh with a power-driven pinion-. wheel and a collar on said shaft arranged subets ately as and for the purpose shown-and described, No. 573,351—Propeller-Wheel. Elisha J. Parker, Dallas, Tex. Filed Sept. 17, 1896. Claim.—1. A_ propeller-wheel for vessels and «boats, consisting of a central hub, a broad rim, a series of spokes . . connecting said hub and rim, and a series of segmental blades or buckets secured to the outer portions of the several spokes and to the inner surface of the rim ‘in oblique positions and having the inner corner of each ‘blade twisted toward the hub-axis, substantially as described, 2. A propeller-wheel for vessels and boats, consisting. of a central hub, a broad inclosing rim,'a series of spokes _ connected with said hub and rim at an angle to the axis of each, and a series of blades or buckets secured to the’ inner surface of the rim and to the outer portions of the: spokes to afford central spaces for passage of surplus’ water, each blade having the inner corners of its opposite ends twisted toward the hub-axis and in reverse directions at the blade ends, substantially as described. No. 571,628—Propeller. William M. tutker, Nelson- point, Cal. Filed Aug. 3, 1896. ’ Claim.—A vessel having a chamber arranged along: its keel a propeller-shaft, extended longitudinally. through said chamber, a number of propeller-wheels on said shaft, and supporting-bars for said shaft having their ends re- movably engaged in recesses in the: side walls of said chamber. A vessel, comprising a hull having parallel longitudinal chambers formed along its keel, L-shaped recesses formed in the opposite walls of each chamber, transverse bars adapted to engage their ends in said recesses, the said bars having transverse mortises, a key having a shank portion to engage through a mortise and having a head portion to engage in a recess, a wedge-shaped key for ‘se- curing the first-named key in position, propeller-shafts supported on said transverse bars, and propeller-wheels removably secured on said shafts. A A PROPER DECISION. The report of the chief of the engineer corps U. S. A. | on certain river and harbor improvements, which has ‘been _ transmitted by the secretary of war to the house, says: “So far as the examination of Raisin’ river, Monroe county, Michigan, from the mouth of the government canal to the wharves, is concerned, it is believed that the cost would vastly exceed the benefits to the commerce of the country. Whatever benefits might accrue would be local, and it is doubted if these would be very great.” A recommendation is made for the improvement by dredging of the harbor at Menominee, Mich., and Wis- consin, at a cost of $19,000. About $7,000 of this amount would be expended outside the present pier heads.