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12 THE MARINE RECORD. OCTOBER 24, Igol. A TRUSCOTT BOAT SIMPLE, SAFE, lighting. RELIABLE, SPEEDY. It. may be possible to build better and safer boats; but it hasn’t been done yet. We send a completely illustrated cata'ogue and price list f ee, which tells you all about boats and WHY TRUSCOTT BOATS EXCEL. Truscott Boat Mfg. Co., ST. JOSEPH, MICH. Pintsch Gas Lighted Buoys. Adopted by the English, German, French, Russian, Italian and - United States Light-House Departments for channel and harbor Over 1,000 gas buoys and gas beacons in service, Burn Continuously — from 80 to 365° days and nights without attention, and can be seen a distance of six miles stint er 2 3 Controlled by THE SAFETY CAR HEATING AND LIGHTING 60. 160 Broadway, New York City. NAVAL STEAM ENGINEERING. In his annual report Rear Admiral Melville, Chief of the Bureau of Steam Engineering, urges the imperative neces- sity for strengthening the Navy along engineering lines. It is the requirements of the future rather than the demands of the present which should be provided for. He says it will not be long before the younger officers who have been trained in professional engineering work lose interest, apti- tude, confidence, and even efficiency in engineering duties, if they are allowed to specialize in other directions. He says: ‘‘From this and other causes engineering efficiency in the navy is rapidy decreasing. With such a state of af- fairs a trained engineering force for the future needs can hardly be regarded as satisfactory. It should not, there- fore, excite surprise when I unqualifiedly assert that there has been retrogression rather than advance along engineer- ing lines during the past two years.’’ He says individual officers have striven earnestly to perfect themselves in the duties of the engine room, but calls attention to the fact that there has been no systematic plan enforced for univer- saltraining. ‘‘Asa result of this inadequate supervision in the engine rooms there has been a perceptible decrease in the efficiency of the machinery and a progressive increase in the cost of repairs.’’ The following recommendations are made: I. That the policy lately inaugurated of detailing junior officers of the line exclusively to engineering duties be greatly extended. 2. That a post-graduate course of instruction in marine engineering and design be established at the Naval Academy for junior officers of the line. 4 3. That at least two war vessels be used in part for the general training of firemen. 4. That several torpedo boats be kept in commission for the training and instruction of machinists and water tenders of torpedo boat service. 5. That all machinists of the second class be sent to a navy yard for practical work on ships under repair. 6. .That warrant machinists be placed upon the same footing as regards pay and rank and emoluments as given other warrant officers. 7. That a special rate of pay be allowed those petty offi- cers in the engineering department who qualify as water tenders of torpedo boats. ro or oo THE GROWTH OF MACHINERY IN CARGO STEAMSHIPS. In the last twenty years the amount of machinery placed in cargo boats has multiplied to a very large extent, and the necessity has become evident for the engineer in charge and his assistants to be as qualified as the more advanced rules of the Board of Trade, regulating their initial training and examination, demands. At the commencement of the time referred to, and indeed for some years after, with the excep- tion of steam reversing and steam turning gear, the staff on board had little to trouble them outside the main engines. Certainly, steam was in occasional use for capstans and steering gear, but as the vessels were of small size compared to those now in vogue, the inclusion of such machinery wag by no means universal. Forced draught and other modern elaborations were rarely seen. At the present day, however, we frequently find ina first-class tramp steamer, besides a larger set of engines than many an old P. & O. liner pos- sessed, engines for reversing, for turning, for forced draught, for centrifugal pumps, feed pumps, auxiliary pumps, ash hoists, for electric lighting, etc., many of which are in du. plicate. To these add such trifles as evaporators, feed heat- ers, feed strainers, reducing valves, etc., and there can be small cause for wonder that the spare time of the engineers in charge has been much encroached upon. Both electric lighting and refrigerating mechinery, which latter represents another special phase of our change and improvement, have become so largely adopted that special rules for their fitting and subsequent examination have been formulated. Atthe present time over 285 vessels are recorded as fitted with refrigerating machinery, and their number is gradually growing. The work on these is so ex- tensive and demands such special knowledge and attention that it is entrusted to a separate staff. The machinery of cargo boats, especially since the prac- tical abolition of the masts, has become of. paramount im- portance. It may not, therefore, be out of place to predict atime when the master will also act as chief engineer. A step in this direction might be taken by allowing engineers to pass an examination and receive a certificate for pro- ficiency in navigation in the same way that masters and mates are now enabled to pass on in steam engineering.— J. F. Walliker, in Cassier’s Magazine for November. oo or or A DOG STORY. There is a small boy living in this city who, if he doesn’t lose his life through just retribution, will grow up to be- come a great financier, declared Jones. ‘‘For some time my wife has possessed a yellow pup that has no earthly ex- cuse for living. But she thinks he is the finest dog in the city and spends a good deal of time caressing him. Finally the dog worship became so unbearable to me that I resolved to end the nuisance, Chancing to meet a bright-looking small boy one day I said to him; ‘See here, boy, do you want to earn a dollar?” “Sure,’’ said he. ‘‘Well, then, said I, you go up to my house, watch your chance and steal the yellow cur that you will find hanging around there. When you get him, bring him down to my office and get your dollar.’’ Within two hours the boy was: back with the cur tied toa rope CAWhat will I do with him boss?” he asked, after I had paid him. “TI don’t care,” I snapped; ‘‘drown him if you want to.” “That night I discovered my wife in tears, and I was in- formed between sobs that poor dear little Fido was missing. The next day she had an advertisement inserted in all the papers offering $10 for his return, The third day she met me joyfully at the door and announced that Fido had been found. ‘‘Where?’’ I asked, concealing a groan. ‘*A little boy brought him back,’’ she answered. ‘What kind of a boy?” I asked, suspiciously. ‘‘A small boy, with the most honest face I ever saw ona little chap. I gave him $10, it being all I had, and told him if he would go down and see you that I knew you would be glad to add $5 to it.” “But the boy didn’t show up. As a matter of fact, I hadn’t the slightest idea he would. I wouldn’t mind giving him $5 if he would call.” D. F. P., Chicago. NOTES. : THE American yacht Lady Francis is the largest yacht in the world driven by gasoline engines. She has two engines of 30 h.p., giving a minimum speed of 1o knots. gasoline reserve is sufficient for a voyage of 1,000 miles. From the returns compiled by Lloyd’s Register of Ship- ping, it appears that, excluding warships, there were 477 vessels of 1,414,120 tons gross under. construction in the United Kingdom at the close of the quarter ended pe September, 1901. THE British Admiralty is making experiments off Ports- mouth with the Temperly-Miller marine cableway for coal- ing ships at sea. The device is a combination of the Tem- perly transporter and the Miller conveyor, already in use in the United States. Great secrecy is being maintained in re- gard to the experiments. It is claimed that the difficulty of keeping the cable taut is overcome in the new device. OF the 76 responses to the request of the Navy Depart- ment for opinions as to superposed turrets for battleships: 33 are in favor of the minority plan and 23 support the majority reports opposing turrets and favoring broadside batteries. Amoug those who recommend the adoption of superposed turrets in future battleships are all the officers at the Nava} War College, at the training station at Newport, at the torpedo station, and at the gun foundry. THE following are the corrected passages covering faulty portions of ‘‘next door neighbors,’’ in the MARINE RECORD of Oct.’ 17, 1901. They are numbered according to the paragraphs in which they will be found. r. laundresses. 2. who were also worrying. such had been convened-—. (this G. C. M. O. 37 of 1886 states.) 5. quarter-deck from below,’’ and there K. charged him with ‘‘disrespect”’ in appealing to J. and “told him——1897.’ See MARINE RECORD——. 7. could have been affected. “ THE Joseph Dixon Crucible Co., Jersey City, N. J., have sent us a brochure, having reference to their graphite prep- arations for steam, gas and electric automobiles, and con- taining some interesting letters from those who have used them. The question is frequently asked ‘‘What is Graph- ite?’ ‘The answer is given in the book as follows: Graphite is one of the forms of carbon. It is sometimes called blacklead or plumbago. Graphite is not affected by acids, alkalies, or any known chemical. It is not affected by heat or cold, fire or water. It is used in a thousand different ways. Dixon’s pure flake graphite, which is used in the manufacture of Dixon’s lubricants, comes from the ~ company’s mines at Ticonderoga, N. Y., and is considered by machinists, engineers, and experts on friction as the most perfect solid lubricant known. It is therefore pre- eminently the most useful article ever offered as a lubricant for the working parts of automobiles. Mr. J. S. V. Bickford, a European authority on Iubricants, who has lately been investigating the subject of graphite lubrication, says: * It should be pointed out that there are very few graphites on _ the market in the least suitable for lubrication except in very rough work. The only one with which I am personally acquainted is that sold by the Joseph Dixon Crucible Co., as Pure Flake. I have had this chemically examined, end what is not carbon appears to be mica, and the residue, after firing in a muffle seems still to possess high lubriceting qualities. The above quotation is interesting as showing the value of Dixon’s pure flake graphite as a lubricant and its world-wide reputation, Her.