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{2 THE MARINE RECORD. Aucust 17, 1899. -Almy’s Patent Sectional WATER TUBE BOILERS. Pintsch Gas Lighted Buoys. NOW USED IN 21 Passenger Boats from 70 to 160 ft. long. 61 Steam Yachts from 50 to 180 ft. long. U. S. TORPEDO BOAT «STILETTO.”’ Numerous freight and fishing steamers, launches and stationary boilers are giving most excellent results. ALMY WATER TUBE BOILER CO., 178-184 Allens Ave., near Rhodes St., PROVIDENCE, R. I. Adopted by the English, German, French, Russian, Italian, and United States Light-House Departments for channel and harbor lighting. Over 800 gas buoys and gas beacons in service. Burn Continuously from 80 to 365 days and nights without atten- tion, and can be seen a distance of six miles. Controlled by THE SAFETY CAR HEATING AND LIGHTING Co, {60 Broadway, New York City. CANADIAN DEEP WATERWAYS COMMISSION. The action of the President of the United States in ap” pointing commissioners to inquire into the whole question of deep water navigation of the region of the Great Lakes; called for similar action on the part of the Dominion goy- ernment, and T. C. Keefer, C. M. G., Thos. Monro, C. E., and O. A. Howland, M. Ll. A., were appointed as the Cana- dian members of the Joint Commission. The.duties of the commission are outlined in the Act of Congress as follows : “The President of the United States is authorized to appoint three persons, who shall have power to confer with any similar committee which may be appointed by the gov- ernment of Great Britain or of the Dominion of Canada, and who shall make inquiry and report whether it is feasible to build such canals as shall enable vessels engaged in ocean commerce to pass \o and fro between the Great Lakes and the Atlantic Ocean, with an adequate and controllable supply of water for continual use; where such canals can be most conveniently located ; probable cost of the same with estimates in detail ; and if any part of the same should be built in the territory of Canada, what regulat ons or treaty arrangements will be necessary between the United States and Great Britain to preserve the free use of such canal to the people of this country at all times; and all necessary facts and considerations relating to the. construc- tion and future use of deep water channels between the Great Lakes and the Atlantic Ocean.’ Thomas Coltrin Keefer, C. M. G., is a son of the late George Keefer. He was born in 1821 and educated at Upper Canada College, Toronto, is an eminent canal and railway engineer ; was employed on the Erie and Welland canals in 1838-45, and as chief engineer of Ottawa river works in 1845-8 ; in 1849, gained Lord Elgin’s prize for the best essay on ‘‘The Influence of the Canals of Canada on her Agriculture,’ and published ‘‘ Philosophy of Rail- ways;’’ in 1850, was employed with the surveys for the navigation of the rapids of the St. Lawrence, etc., and was sent by the Canadian government to assist United States Consul to report on Canadian trade with the United States; in 1852, went to New York to assist in a seco’ d report on the same subject; these reports led to the Reciprocity Treaty of 1854; in 1851, made preliminary surveys for the Grand Trunk Railway, and for the railway bridge over the St. Lawrence at Montreal, and was appointed Canadian Commissioner for International Exhibition at London ; was nominated Engineer to Montreal Harber Commiss oners in 1853; has constructed water works for cities of Montreal, Hamilton, and Ottawa, and been largely engaged in harbor and bridge engineering; was sometime chief engineer to railways in Upper and Lower Canada ; commissioner to In- ternational Exhibition, London, 1862; and executive com- missioner for Paris Exhibition, 1878; and a member of International Jury for Architecture and Engineering (Officer of Legion of Honor) ; in 1869-70, published a series of letters advocating the Canadian-Pacific Railway ; in 1886, was vice president of American Society of Civil Engineers ‘ of New York, andchairman of Royal Commission at Mon- treal on ice floods; in 1887, was President of Canadian Society of Civil Engineers ; and in 1888, president of Ameri- can Society of Civil Engineers ; elected member of Royal Society of Canada, 1891; is a M. I. C. E., London’; created C. M. G. in 1878. The Canadian Engineer gave a biographical sketch of Thos Monro, with a portrait, in the issue of April, 1895. Oliver Aiken Howland isa son of Hon. Sir. W. P. How- land, K.C. M.G.,C. B., P.C., the first Lieutenant-Gov- ernor of Ontario, after it became a province of the Domin- ion. He was born at Lambton Mills, in 1847. Educated at the Upper Canada College, Toronto Model Grammar School and Toronto University. He entered upon the study of law in 1870; was admitted to the Ontario bar in 1875, and is now a member of the legal firm of Howland, Arnoldi & Bristol, Toronto. Mr. Howland has devoted considerable attention to literature and art. Heisa contributor to the Week, the Canadian Magazine and other current magazines, and is the autbor of The New Empire, a valuable work published in 1891. He was elected president of the International Deep Waterways Association (at the Toronto Convention), and re-elected to the position at the Cleveland Convention this year. In June, 1894, he was elected member of the Provin- cial Parliament for South Toronto. In his legal capacity Mr. Howland has been engaged in celebrated cases before the Privy Council and other high tribunals. Ole PORTLAND CEMENT. Having, to the expressed satisfaction of many of the RECORD’s readers given an up-to-date account of Port- land cement so far as regards its requirements, manipula- tion and latest improvements, we now must take leave of the subject for the present after a passing attention to one or two important details, which perhaps deserved more attention than we bestowed previously. The following will give atolerably correct idea of what the various cements we have referred to contain, and of their behavior : cao. $03—Present or capable of forma- tion. Good Portland........:.. 62% 1% Cracks very slowly. * (No cracks; very slow set. oz | Neat, is superior to Port- °’ Jand and makes a stronger and more plastic mortar. * (No eracks, still slower set. 684% 1% Neat, equals Portland and much superior as a mortar. 4% eer in open air, may hold 5 together for 3 to 5 years. Portland cement made * (No cracks, very plastic (onl: jrom slag, as already \ a aoe { VEL Y y fully deseribed.......... alitsiy to be wned aath sand). * The inventor attributes these excellent resultsto the high per centage of CaO, which his process enables the cement to carry safely when carbonated. See our previous description of his patent. The maximum of SO3 allowable in Portland cement is from 1% to 2% per cent., although the latter figure is only permissible when the cement is used with two or three parts sand, and never in sea water. Magnesia, again, is a very undesirable component, of which 1 to 3 per cent. is high enough in most cases. Two per cent. of gypsum is sometimes added to Portland cement with good results, but with very bad results if it increases the SO3 of the cement beyond the above safety line. The new process, it will be remembered, dispenses with gypsum entirely. As to judgin® the quality of the cement, there are two simple rules which will answer all needed purposes. First, if the cement stands satisfactorily the ordinary seven days’ tests—14 to 28 may be needed by slow cements—and second, if an independent analysis show it to be free from excess of sulphur compounds and of magnesia. The latter is nec- essary because inferior goods can be cooked so as to pass lime and carbonated, Ditto with 15% hydrate of 66% as described. +. .4.0000%. Ditto with 25% of ditto.. Slag cemfent.............. 504% steam and short time tests satisfactorily, but an analysis, which need only be for CaO, MgO, and SO3 actually present or capable of formation from the sulphide present in all Portland cement, will detect them at once. A friend has just asked what we think of adding special silica to cement and grinding together. Sometwo years ago the British manufacturers, had a prolonged dispute on this identical question and finally referred it to Dr. Michaelis, who, after an exhaustive investigation, decided against it. The fact is that an acidis required to combine with the lime, and Mr. Livingston has succeeded in effecting this by his pro- cess with carbon, which could only be done with silica if heat or pressure be applied, and, of course, this is impos- sible. Even if it could be done about four times the quan- tity of silica would be required, as compared with carbon. —— OO oe oe DANGEROUS LAKE EXCURSION. Consideration of the narrow escape from death by the passengers on the excursion boat which started from South Haven for Milwaukee, Saturday evening, should not be per- mitted to cease with gratitude to a watchful Providence. The neglectful vessel owners and officials are entitled to some attention. What does vessel inspection or legal regulation amount to as a safeguard to life on the lakes if such palpable ineffi- ciency is tolerated and such dangers can be experienced by patrons without a fixing of the responsibility and the inflict- ing of a measure of punishment calculated to discourage similar recklessness in future? There was a craft long idle and evidently in need of general and thorough repair com- missioned to engage in traffic which, under the best of management, involves large risk of life through danger of over-crowding and by reason of the natural carelessness of excursionists themselves. It was started for a ttip across Lake Michigan with three hundred passengers, apparently without any adequate test of seaworthiness. The calking of her leaky bottom had been done in such defective man- ner that she was soon found to be in danger of filling with water before any shore could be reached, and it appears that the discovery of this danger alone led to the knowledge by the officers that the pumps were not in working order. The final return of the vessel and safe landing of the dis- tressed pleasure party can scarcely be reckoned as more than one of the series of accidents which marked the attempt to turn a leaky old boat into a first-class excursion steamer chiefly by virtue of advertising. There is no cheaper or more enjoyable and healthful recreation than a lake trip. The owners of vessels which are fit for the business should, for their own protect a against loss of business and growth of public distrust, ing *? upon better precautions than seem to have obtained again. the transformation of vessels which cannot be safely or profitably employed in freight carrying being transformed into excursion boats to menace the lives of people who go upon the lake solely in the hope of prolonging life.—Mil- waukee Sentinel. tt ct Seamen—Abandoment of Ship—Failure to Provide Proper — Quarters.—Seamen are not justified in leaving their ship be- fore the expiration of their time of service on account of a failure to make their quarters comfortable, as required by law, where they made no complaint on that ground to the captain. The C. F. Sargent, 95 Fed. Rep. (U. S.) 179.