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

EEE eee DREDGE FOR CALCUTTA. At the successful conclusion of the trials of the great dredge plant built for the Russian Government by the Societe John Cockrill, of Seraing, near Liege, Belgium, from the designs of Lindon W. Bates, of Chicago, (reported by me February 9, 1899, and published in Consular Reports No. 224, May, 1899, page 79), Mr. Bates was invited to ac- company one of the Russian imperial ministers through the canal system Marie, between the Baltic Sea and the head waters of the Volga river, and to inspect and report on the proposed widening and deepening of the system. As the outcome of this report, Mr. Bates and the Societe John Cock- erill, in collaboration, are in negotiation with the Russian Government to supply the plant for the destined improve- ment, according to the recommendations of Mr. Bates. These dredges are designed with special reference to the varying local conditions which obtain in the different sec- tions of this important canal system. There are three types to be employed: the Bates hydraulic suction dredger, the American single-bucket machine, and the American endless- chain-bucket machine, which was so successful at Panama. The first of four dredges has just been completed at the Walker Shipyards, London, England. The remaining three _are intended for work in Queensland, and are much more powerful than the vessel forming the subject of this descrip- tion, whichis intended for work at the Kidderpore docks, Calcutta, India. These are large and expensive docks, which were finished a few years ago and have already been found to be too small for the demands of commerce. The orders for these dredges were toa large extent the outcome of the remarkable results obtained with Mr. Bates’ dredger Beta on the Mississippi river, and since then with the big dredger built for the Russian Government by the Societe John Cockerill, of Seraing, Belgium, and intended for the improvement on the Volga. While the leading features of the Bates system, with numerous improvements, have been retained, a considerable change in the appearance and arrangement of the craft has taken place, which is pri- marily due to its having to perform the voyage to its desti- nation under its own steam. The dredging mechanism is of the kind generally adopted in the Bates system, and consists of a hollow, rotary milling cutter at the end of asuction ladder, capable of work at varying depths, the extreme in the present case being 32 feet below water level. The spoil is discharged by the pump through a system of floating pipes incased in elliptical pon- toons and connected flexibly by means of the Bates ball-and- socket joint, packed with pneumatic tubing, which has been found greatly superior to the flexible rubber or leather joint pieces usually employed. The end of the discharge pipe line is formed by a pontoon or special shape and adapt- ed for connection to shore pipe, or else for discharging iuto the water. In this case, the motion necessary for distribut- ing the dredged material is imparted to the pontoon line by a hydraulic distributor which also forms one of the special features of the system. The dredger is adapted for working either straight ahead or for radial dredging. In the latter case it is anchored by one of two spuds or vertical anchors, alternately, and swung through the arc requisite to obtain a channel of the desired width. The main dimensions of the hull are: Length over all, 128 feet; length between per- pendiculars, 124 feet; breadth, extreme, 30 feet; depth, molded, 8 feet 9 inches. A raised forecastle deck and bridge decks are provided, and aft of the bridge deck a quarter deck. The boiler room occu- pies the center of the vessel, with coal bunkers of a total capacity of 7o tons on each side. Under all the machinery and boiler spaces a double bottom is built. Ample accom- modations for European officers and crew, and for a native crew, are also provided. The suction ladder is placed in a well way at the bow. ' ‘The machinery comprises the main pumping engine, driv- . ing the sand pump, the propeller, the cutter engine, a hoist- ing engine for raising and lowering the suction ladder, and asimilar engine for lifting the spuds, steering engine and the usual auxiliary machinery, with the addition of a force pump, which supplies filtered water to all bearings placed under or in contact with sandy water, so as to exclude grit from the working surfaces. The cutter is of the usual Bates form, and consists of twelve knives made of steel plate and forming a hollow cylindrical milling cutter. The dredging pump has a steel rudder and a cast-iron casing, made in five pieces, which experience has shown to require renewal at different times. THE MARINE RECORD. The main engine, which is coupled directly to the centri- fugal pump, is of the usual vertical marine compound type. Steam is supplied to all the engines from a Babcock & Wil- cox marine boiler, with four furnaces adapted for using In- dian coal. A feature of this dredger is the spud or vertical anchor, two of which are provided at the stern. They are square spars of Oregon fir, guided in well ways built into the ship, and are fitted with cast-steel shoes. Very complete arrangements are made for controlling the whole of the dredging and navigating mechanism from the operating house. A telephone is also installed on the end pontoon, commu- nicating with the pilot house, so that the officer in charge is in constant communication with all his subordinates. The end pontoon, by which the position of the whole line of discharge pipe is controlled, also contains some features of interest. It may be used either for distributing the spoil into belts, or for connecting to a line of shore pipe discharg- ing over a bank. Suitable arrangements for changing from one method to the cther are provided. The capacity of the dredge is from 300 to/1,000 cubic yards per hour, according to the character of the material handled and the distance to which it is discharged. Satisfactory dock and sea trials were made with the dredger before it left the Tyne. A speed of 8 knots was de- veloped on trial. ALFRED A. WINSLOW, Consul. Liege, August 15, 1900. TRAFFIC THROUGH THE ST. MARY’S FALLS CANAL. STATISTICAL REPORT OF LAKE COMMERCE THROUGH CANALS AT SAULT STE. MARIE, MICHIGAN AND ONTARIO, FOR THE MONTH OF OCTOBER, 1900. EAST BOUND U.S. Canadian Articles. Canal. Gatial Total. Coppeti stake. soc0 net tons 13,465 1,440 14,905 Grainiwac ies Secon bushels] 2,617,723} 309,640} 2,927,363 Building stone....... net tons 7,908 1,990 9,898 EN OU Pasaicts Sveaccleenurs ace barrels} 1,029,292] 104,388] 1,133,680 TOM OLe tetera a3, ve net tons} 1,927,517| 225,051] 2,152,568 D8 (0919 9) (eee are rtti ne net tons 2,047 go 2,137 Lumbers ..c.32 M. ft. B. M.| 140,180 1,081} 141,261 Silver ore..........5. MeEULONS! Vena sees Saralae ae ease Wheat seule eae: bushels} 1,700,759] 345,517| 2,046,276 General mdse........ net tons II, 100 1,388 12,488 Passengers........... number 851 886 1,737 WEST BOUND. Coalhards} Sc. net tons TRVOAT leva Sons: 13,047 Coal SOLt. fii sce net tons} 343,860 63,360] 407,220 PlOur were enee. barrels}.....2.... 53375 5,375 Grains oe eee te bushels} 10,800) 60,000} 70,800 Manufactured iron...net tons By 702 ews cur eats 5,792 Saltwic cscs cases barrels 72,602 4,280 76,882 General mdse........net tons 58,234 15,630 73,864 Passengerss..5. 0.2... number 647 1,082 1,729 . ncaa Ast bound 388i ee!. net tons| 2,414,365; 261,529} 2,675,8 West bound.......... net tons} 431,996 pane seis ss Total freight... ...... net tons| 2,846,361} 342,932] 3,189,293 Vessel passages— ee ——|—__-_— INMDeie oes Seieels ie cares oe 2,058 458 2,516 Reg’d tonnage....... net tons} 2,533,143| 380,012] 2,913,155 Compiled at St. Mary’s Falls canal, Michigan, under di- rection of Lieut.-Col. G. J. Lydecker, Corps of Engineers, U.S. A. Joseph Ripley, Asst. Engr. and Genl. Supt. $e oe WRECK AND CASUALTY REPORT FROM SEP- TEMBER 16 TO OCTOBER 15, 1900, INCLUSIVE. 1. September 20,—Canadian steamer St. Andrews strand- ed on Blanchard’s Island, Black Bay, Lake Superior, and shortly after slid off the rocks into deep water and became a total loss; the crew reached shore in safety but lost all cloth- ing; estimated value of vessel, $50,000; no cargo. ; 2. September 27.—Dredge No. 4 in tow of the tugs Dragon and Pete Gorman, foundered off Lorain during a heavy squall; crew rescued; has been raised; estimated value of dredge, $8,000. 3. October 1.—The steamer Douglass stranded 5 miles below Rogers during dense fog; released without damage. Note.—September 22.—The steamer Yuma and schooner Martin collided at the mouth of Lake Huron, near the wreck of the schooner Fontana, and the Martin sunk, carrying down 4 of her crew; estimated value of vessel, $18,000; cargo $6,000; total loss, $24,000. NOVEMBER 8, Igo0 LITERARY NOTES. ‘A Century of International Commerce”’ is the title of an article contributed to the November number of the North American Review by Mr. O. P. Austin, chief of the United States Bureau of Statistics. Mr. Austin points out that, while the population of the world has increased during the past hundred years one hundred and fifty per cent., inter- national trade has grown more than a thousand per cent. This wonderful development of commerce Mr. Austin traces. to five great causes—steam, electricity, and peace. The United States have well performed their part in this vast movement—their commerce having risen from $162,000,000 to $2,000,000, 000. see. The November Scribner contains Henry Norman’s second _ installment of ‘‘Russia of To-day,’’ which describes the great ” Trans-Siberian railway. out the industrial possibilities of Russia’s eastern possessions, The Trans-Siberian railway holds the world’s record for rapidity of construction. In seven years 2,503 miles of rail- way have been opened up for traffic. Thirty miles of bridges, and some very long ones will be included in the entire road. The magazine contains also an interesting article on ‘‘The Landscape Features of the Paris Exposition,’’ by Samuel Parsons, Jr., late superintendent of parks, New York City. ‘‘A Deep Waterway from the Great Lakes to the Gulf of Mexico’’ is the title of a volume just issued, consisting of papers read before the Western Society of Engineers and reprinted from the journal of that society. It is being dis- tributed with the compliments of the legislative committee of the Illinois River Valley Association. The papers are as follows: ‘‘Lower Mississippi River from the Gulf of Mexico to Cairo,’? James A. Seddon; ‘‘Cairo to the Sanitary and Ship Canal at Lockport,” and ‘The Sanitary and Ship Canal of Chicago,’’ Isham Randolph. There is alsoincluded a report of the discussions which followed the papers by Messrs. Lyman E. Cooley, Robert E. McMath, C. H. Hut-- ton, Isham Randolph, Thomas T. Johnston and James A. Seddon. Maps are given, too, and the book asa whole presents this important subject from the highest plane of eminence in the engineering profession. The H. H. Johns Manufacturing Co., 100 Williams street, New Vork, send forth this week a booklet entitled “‘Some- thing About Coverings.’? The brochure relates to covering steam pipes, and states that Asbestos is a fibrous mineral and one of Nature’s unique products. It is found in various parts of the world and usually occurs in narrow veins or seams. When treated mechanically it yields soft, white, delicate, and exceedingly strong fibres, which can be spun, woven, and otherwise manufactured into many useful arti- cles. In addition to its fire-proof qualities it is acid-proof and is practically indestructible. It also forms a valuable insulator for electrical purposes. For purity of material, elasticity and adaptability of structure, combined with gen- eral completeness in design, looking to efficiency with dur- ability, our asbestos materials are easily superior to all others. There are no approved forms of non-conducting coverings now in use which do not either contain asbestos or depend upon it for their efficiency. The Engineers’ Gazette Annual for 1901 has just been is- sued. This is the thirteenth year of publication. It has been thoroughly revised and brought up-to-date under the editorship of Mr. George N. Arnison, editor of the Engineers’ Gazette, who is a member of the North East Coast Institution of Engineers and Shipbuilders and Silver: Medalist of the 1877 Session of the Institution of Engineers and Shipbuild- ers in Scotland. While the principal features that have characterized this work during its past successful career have been retained in the present edition, in some respects it has been altered. In conjunction with the Calendar, a Diary has been added as wellas a Marine Engineers’ Log and Tables for recording trial trips. The Electrical Notes have been carefully revised and additional terms included. The Notes on Engines and Boilers are entirely new and contain in a concise form practically the entire requirements regard- engines and boilers (built of steel) of the leading classifica- tion societies, namely, The British Corporation for the Sur- vey and Registry of Shipping, Bureau Veritas, and Lloyd’s Register of British and Foreign Shipping, as well as those of the Board of Trade, and as these notes are alphabetically ar- ranged they should be found very useful to consulting and superintending engineers. ee ee In these days of fast trans Atlantic steamers the subject of miles and knots are often discussed, and quite as often con- founded; therefore the following explanation is given: A nautical mile, or a sea mile, is the length of one minute of longitude of the earth at the equator, at the level of the sea, or the 1-21,600 part of the earth’s equatorial circumference. By the United States standard, and as used by the coast sur- vey, its length is 1,152,664 common statute or land miles; 1,855.11 metres; 2,028.69 yards; or 6,086.07 feet; consequently, 1 degree of longitude at the equator equals 69.160 land miles, and a land mile equals 0.86755 part of a nautical mile. By the British standard the sea mile is about four inches longer than by the United States. Sometimes one minute of mean latitude is taken asa nautical mile. A minute of lati- oe Hae Ge a is ee ae feet, and at the poles about ; st, the mean of which is t i to the British naval mile, 6 o80 relay Sel, Of, cota OOO SO OO SS ACCORDING to Census figures made public on October 30, by Director of the Census Merri i United States is 76,295,220, Unis Se pobslshon an invention, finance The author traveled the entire - length of the railroad as far as it is completed. He points — ROM eee og ae 9 OIA NPN IR RG Pre es BPO ETS em