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THE MARINE RECORD us, the underwriters must be dancing to a fairly lively tune. There is one feature about this, though, which we ight remark, as it calls to mind the interminable discus- sion of “who pays the tax” there can be no doubt in the foregoing instances that’ the foreigner does. “So we may Jet the galled jade wince.” oor ENTERING TORONTO HARBOR. Owners and captains of sailing vessels are not at all satisfied with the condition of the eastern gap at Toronto, as the depth of water is not sufficient to permit of vessels sailing in, and they are obliged to lie off and wait to be towed in. Last week the schooner Arginta, when to the west of the red buoy which marks shoal water, grounded when only drawing 11 feet, 4 inches, which is ten inches . less than the usual draught of schooners. The extremely shallow water renders it impossible to keep a right course. Application has been made to the department of marine and fisheries for a government dredge, but so far no no- tice has been taken of the request. Another complaint they have is the want of a range light on the eastern pier. They claim that it is at times impossible to distinguish the red light at the Queen’s wharf from that at the eastern gap. Last year, in rough weather. the schooners Emory _and Dundee grounded for want of a range light. or oo HYDROGRAPHIC OFFICE PUBLICATIONS. The Hydrographic Office, U. S. N., have just issued a very handsome book, 10 inches by 6, showing sixteen plates of the various cloud forms for the guidance of the observers in the classification of clouds. The late hydro- grapher, Capt. C. D. Sigsbee, U.S. N., states in the pre- face of the work as follows: The inadequacy of the old classification of clouds, either for identification or record, and the increasing attention given to clouds as signs for forecasting the weather, have led to the adoption of the present classification by the Hydrographic Office. The classification nomenclature, and descriptive text are derived from the International Cloud Atlas, Paris, 1896, but the plates are from original paintings made for the Hydrographic Office. The stand- ard classification includes ten cloud types, which are shown on the first ten plates. Certain modifications of these types are shown on the remaining six plates. Rules for observing and recording are left for separate publica- ‘tions, as future developmient may suggest. Each plate embraces the horizon and enough extension of view to show cloud perspective. The question of the _adoption of a new classification, the collection of photo- graphs and printed exemplars, the investigation of au- thorities and the form of publication, have been under the special charge of the Hydrographer. The original paintings are by Mr. Rudolf Cronau, who brings to the _ work an admirable spirit and an entirely satisfactory com- prehension of the scientific and technical sides of the ques- ton. The paintings arederived from a largenumberof pho- tographs provided by the Hydrographer, printed exemp- lars, the International Cloud Atlas, and from the artist’s personal observation and knowledge of clouds. Mr. Cronau has had the advice of Mr. Louis Prang, the emi- nent lithographer, in respect to the quality of the pictures for reproduction. The lithographing is by L. Prang & ~ C€o., Boston. — The thanks of the Hydrographic Office are due to Mr. A. Lawrence Rotch, Director of the Blue Hill Meteoro- logical Observatory and member of the International Cloud Committee, who, during the whole consideration of the subject by the Hydrographer, covering a period of three years, has given encouragement and advice; and to Mr. H. H. Clayton, of the Blue Hill Meteorological Ob- servatory, who has criticised the paintings as they were produced, thereby enabling corrections to be made by the artist. The thanks of the Marine Record are due to the resent Hydrographer, Commander J. E. Craig, U. S. N., for a copy of this work; also a very handsome chart or sheet of the colored plates: —_< < —$————— —— o We are indebted to Mr. Geo. F. Stone, secretary of the Board of Trade of Chicago, for a copy of the 30th annual port of the trade and commerce of Chicago for the year , ending Dec. 31, 1806, which was compiled by Mr. Stone for the Board of Trade. It is a large volume of nearly 400 pages. Its special feature is the exhaustive review of he year’s business by Secretary Stone. RECOGNITION AT LAST. Daniel E. Lynn’s handsome gold medal, awarded by congress as a recognition of his heroism on the occasion of the wreck of the schooner William Shupe, was forward- ed to him from Washington this week at his home in Port Huron. The medal was secured after a hard fight, made by Senator McMillan, who was obliged to meet the ob- jections of the treasury department officials that a bad precedent would be established through the striking of a special medal. The trophy Lynn will receive is unusually heavy and handsome. On the obverse side of thé medal is the in- scription, “United States of America, joint resolution of congress, March 2, 1897,” while on the reverse are en- graved the words: “In testimony of heroic deeds in sav- ing life from the perils of the sea.’’ Within a wreath the name “Daniel E. Lynn” is handsomely engraved. OO Ol DOS OHIO FIRE AND MARINE INSURANCE. Under the statutes of the State of Ohio foreign fire and marine insurance companies engaging in business in that Commonwealth, in addition to being taxed upon their gross receipts for premiums, are required to deposit $100,- 000 with the State Treasurer. Several of the most prom- inent English companies have complied with these re- quirements, but many others are evading the law and do- ing business surreptitiously through Eastern agencies which have subagents at Cleveland and other Ohio ports. These “underground” companies have the present season made rates which the legitimate and regular companies cannot meet, and consequently are securing most of the business. It is understood that the Insurance Commis- sioner of the State has taken cognizance of the status of affairs, and is about to enter upon an investigation which promises to lead to the imposition of heavy penalties up- on the transgressors. ee COAL HANDLING AT MILWAUKEE. The B. Uhrig Fuel Company is sustaining its reputa- tion for rapid work at the Canal Street yard, Milwaukee. The steamer S. R. Kirby and her consort George E. Hart- nell began discharging their coal cargoes, aggregating 1776 tons, at 8 a. m. and were ready to leave of 8 o’clock p. m. The time occupied in transferring these cargoes to the stock piles was thus about 24 hours. La NAVAL ECCENTRICITIES IN DAYS OF YORE. Remarkable personalities are comparatively rare in the navy of our time. There is no place for the superb ec- centricities which almost inevitably distinguished equal- ly the great and the little man who trod the man-of- war’s decks in the days of yore. In society there may be a certain air about the naval officer which marks him in the eyes of those who know. But such an air is a sub- tle surrounding, impossible to describe in detail, so that even on the stage the naval officer is a very fine fellow merely, without any foibles for the dramatist to take hold of. How impossible is it now to imagine the ad- miral in command of the Mediterranean fleet (say) lead- ing his division into action while munching an apple, and alternating bites and puns, which was Collingwood’s individuality at the battle of Trafalgar? conceive that the captain of the “Royal Sovereign” pac- ing the bridge of the ‘Majestic’ beside the admiral with- in full but distant view of the enemy, and hearing him speak of his determination to fight at all hazards should give him a hearty slap on the back and exclaim, “That's right, Lord Walter, and a d—n good licking we'll give them!”—which was Capt. Hallowell’s individuality at the battle of St. Vincent. Or who shall believe that the greatest man of the navy today could sit himself down to write a solemn dispatch to the admiralty, ascribing the bad state of health in his fleet to fresh beef and vege- tables and too great relaxation, and abstention from salt provisions!—which was the individuality of the great St. Vincent. Or, to drop at once to small things—is there now a living midshipman who has had to awake the lieu- tenant in charge of the watch at sea, and get him to sit up in order to award a proper punishment to the look out-man caught in the same breach of the articles of war? That was an individuality within my own experi- ence.—From “The Evolution of the Naval Officer,” by Admiral P: H. Colomb, R. N., in “North American Re- view” for May. Or who will | LAKE FREIGHTS. While there is no sense in crying’ wolf when there is no — wolf, it is just as stupid to say the freight market is im- proving, or on the upward tendency when it is no better — than it was last week. There are plenty of cargoes and large ones, too; that seems to be the worst of it, as these four and five, yes fifty-five hundred-ton licks bar out a good many medium-sized vessels from catching a charter. There is a present slight improvement, however, in coal rates, for after going back five cents to Lake Michi- gan, the old figure of 25 cents has been restored, though the head of the lakes still holds at 20 cents. Vesels fitted for the lumber trade chiefly out of Georgian Bay are also finding something to do and this gives a show to a class of tonnage that needs every cent that they can earn for their owners, as opposed to the large corporations who | could stand a whole season’s siege of necessary. The largest transaction in iron ore this week was the placing of a block of 150,000 tons from the head of Lake Superior to Lake Erie ports, up to September 1, at 60 cents and the balance to be carried up to November 1, at 7o cents. This makes Lake Superior charters amount to about half a million tons already fixed for the season. The wild rate from Escanaba is still at 40 cents, with just as light shipments as there is from Lake Superior, though the South Chicago charters are fixed for the season. The Chicago grain. trade is holding fairly steady at 1} cents on corn to Lake Erie and a fair amount of business has been done during the week. It was also reported that 14 cents was paid on some lots of wheat, and 12 cents was certainly paid for one cargo, an advance of 4 cent over former charters. : The decline in ore freight rates is displayed in the fig- ures which follow, the season contract rate from Mar- quette being used: 1882, $1.75; 1883, $1.20; 1884, $1.35; 1885, $1.05; 1886, $1.20; 1887, $1.63; 1888, $1.15; 1880, $1.10; 1890, $1.25; 1891, 90 cents; 1892, $1.15; 1893, $1; 1894, 80 cents; 1895, 75 cents; 1896, 95 cents; 1897, 65 cents. At one time, 1887, the “wild” rate was as high as $1.87, while in 1880 the freight rate averaged $2.20, a period of prosperity for vesselmen. In the seasons 1894, 1895, 1896 low “wild” freight rates prevailed, the average rates hav- ing been 60, 92 and 66 cents respectively. .The average “wild” freight rate from Duluth was $2.23 in 1887. The contract rate shows a decline from $2 in 1887 to 70 cents this year. -e POSS POSTPONEMENT OF SALE. From an advertisement appearing on page JJ of the current issue of the Marine Record, the U. S. Revenue Cutter Johnson, is announced for sale on May 3Jst. Under authority of Hon, O. L. Spalding, Acting Secretary of the Treasury, the Record has been requested to state that the safe has been postponed for one day, or from May 3lst, to June Ist, at the same hour, viz: noon. rr HUMORS OF HYDROGRAPHY. As in every other feature of nautical life, hydrography has both its interesting and its humorous side. Many years ago, the Graham shoal, lying between Malta and Sicilly, gradually rose and rose until it reached a height of 150 feet above the level of the sea. Of course, a party was very soon despatched to annex, and hoist the union jack on the newly found islet. Years afterwards it was reported to have disappeared, and when her Majesty’s ship Newport surveyed the spot in 1868, a mass of scoriac ashes was found, two and a half fathoms under water. In 1866, while searching for the Helen shoal in the China sea, breakers. were reported from the masthead of her Majesty's ship Dove, which immediately steamed towards the spot, and every one on board the vessel thought a shoal existed there. On a nearer approach, however, the supposed breakers were seen to be due to a fight between a whale and a thrasher. Later on her Majesty’s ship Challenger, in the course of her cruise, happened to be in the neigh- borhood of the Fiji Islands, when a peculiar play of the moonlight on the water was mistaken for an unchartered shoal. An unfamiliar “rip” was responsible for a similar mistake in the China sea in 1889. Again, towards the end of 1890, some mischievous fish caused a lot of trouble to a surveying expedition, when her Majesty’s ship Alert, in December of that year, was engaged in ascertaining the exact position of Le Rhin shoal, in the Pacific. Breakers were sighted, and upon making for the supposed danger, - hundreds of large fish were discovered jumping, and throwing the water high up in the air, and no bottom with 300 fathoms of line could be obtained. re