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MARINE REVIEW. ee A Proposed Code of Fog Signals. In a letter to the Maritime Register of New York, C. A. Haldt of Philadelphia refers to discussion during the past several years, in which it has been claimed that a uniform code of fog signals, plain enough to be generally understood, cannot be secured. “After mature thought,” he says “Ihave made out the following code, which is indeed a very simple one, and which I think will solve the problem : < “Now, the accompanying cut re- -d presents the face of the compass, and Nw NE these numbers could easily be placed on any compass just as they are here, TW g3 and this would mean that when a vessel is steering a northerly course, sw sz to blow one long whistle ; if southerly, : * blow five short blasts ; if southeast, : four short blasts, and so on, just as it is numbered, This code would, of course, always be marked distinctly on the compass and always in view of the man at the wheel on the bridge, and therefore not easy for anyone to make a mistake. I think that this, not being at all complicated, to be a great improvement over the present mode, and one that might be adopted with success. In reference to vessels at anchor, all that would be necessary to do would be to give nine short blasts, which, of ca a could Fig be counted.” A Powerful Steam Crane. The current issue of Industries of London, illustrates and describes a huge steam crane, built by Messrs. Ransomes & Ra- pier of London, to be used on the Madras harbor works, where it will be chiefly employed in transporting blocks of concrete weighing thirty-two tons, in the construction of a breakwater. The weight of the crane or Titan as it is called, without water ballast or load, is 152 tons, and with ballast 170 tons. A feat- ure of importance in connection with this appliance is that it not only has to be capable of slueing around in a complete circle, but has also, owing to the shape of the breakwater on which it will be employed, to be capable of traveling onacurved road. ‘To enable it to accomplish this the Titan is carried upon twelve wheels arranged as two four-wheeled bogies, one at each end, and with driving wheels in the center. This arrangement en- ables the crane to travel with ease round a curve 90 feet radius. The radius described by the arm is 50 feet, and to minimise the shock produced by stopping a load, owing to the momentum ac- quired when being slued round, spring breaking devices are in- troduced in connection with the gearing soas to bring the arm to a gradual stop. ‘The crane is made of mild steel, all parts be- ing carefully machined, and all rivet holes drilled in position. The whole of the work is so arranged that it can be conveniently taken to pieces for transport and reerected at its destination with a minimum of trouble. The crane has been put through a series of tests and has been found to handle forty tons without difficulty. Admiralty. Notes, Judge Green of the federal court, New Jersey, says in de- ciding an admiralty case heard recently: A maritime lien for repairs, based on a running account extending over nearly four years, during the whole of which time the-account was largely reduced by payments made with considerable regularity, the last within a week, before the libel to enforce the lien was filed, is not barred by laches, though the last repairs were made nearly ayear before the libel was filed; and the claim of the libelant shquld not be postponed to those of others. who made repairs and furnished supplies to the vessel while payments to the libelants were being made. When a vessel is attached and sold as perishable, and the resulting fund paid into court for distribution, a libel for a debt acknowledged to exist, the lien of which was discharged by the sale, will not be dismissed even if the debt was not due at the time the suit was brought. Progress of the Twin-Screw. Success with the twin-screw steamship Virginia of the Good- rich line will be an incentive to the building of this class of ves- sels on the lakes. This country was slow in adopting the triple expansion engine as well as the compound engine twenty years ago. ‘The progress of the twin-screw will eventually find as much employment for the shipbuilder and marine engineer as did the introduction of the new types of engine, and the experi- ment with a triple screw, which the United States navy is now carrying out in one of its most important vessels, will add inter- to the advancement of naval science in this regard. Marine Engineering During tne Past Decade. At the summer meeting of the Institute of Mechanical En- gineers, just held in London, one of the members of this distin- guished organization in a review of marine engineerieg during the past decade made the following brief conclusions: First, thé working pressure has been about doubled; second, the increase of working pressure and other improvements have brought with them their equivalent in economy of coal, which is about 20 per cent.; third, marked progress has been made in the direction of economy of dimension, more than twice the former power having been put into certain vessels; fourth, substantial advance has been made in the scientific principles of engineering. Another paper by Mr. G. R. Brace had reference to one of Lloyds rules on holds with double bottoms. The rule requires that ‘‘in the double bottom of each compartment of the hold and of the engine and boiler space a steam pump suction is to be fitted at the middle line, and one on each side to clear the tanks of water when the vessel has a heavy list. Where there isa con- siderable rise of floor towards the ends of the vessels the middle line suction only will be required.” It was claimed that these requirements were more than was necessary for the safety of ‘ships at sea. The author of the paper had made a series of in- vestigations, the results of which were given, and they proved conclusively in his opinion that one suction in each tank is quite sufficient to empty it, ifthe sbip has enough stability to go to sea with safety. Ten years ago, say in the month of July, 1881, how did matters stand as regards advance in marine engines? ‘The fast- est ocean steamer afloat was then the Arizona, with a speed of a little over 16 knots at her best. The fastest run from Queens- town to New York was 7 days and 8 hours. The best and most approved type of engine was the compound. The name of “triple expansion” was not known. ‘The term “forced draught” conveyed no meaning, Ships and boilers of steel were a novel- ty which many engineers would like to see more thoroughly tried before pinning their faith to them. The name of Atlantic greyhound was not yet heard. Yet it was just at the threshhold of the new time. Every one in the summer and autumn of 1881 was interested to know how the new Atlantic liners, the City of Rome and the Servia would behave on their first trip across the Atlantic, which was to take place before winter, and every one who took an interest in the matter was aware that these steam- ers would be followed up by others within a very short time which would almost certainly cast into the shade* the best of their performances. That anticipation, as we all know, has been more than fulfilled. A run of less than 7 days was for the first time made to New York in May, 1882, and this was soon fol- lowed up by better runs—the Oregon and the America improv- ing on the best time of the Alaska; and they were again cast into the shade by the Umbria and Etruria, which appeared, the first named in the autumn of 1884 and the other in the spring of 1885; till at length in May, 1889, the City of Paris, for the first time, made the run under 6 days. It is therefore strictly true that the great advance in speed and results of engineering work falls within the last ten years, and without triple expansion engines and forced draught these results could never have been obtained. THE Derroir TRIBUNE (WEEKLY) AND THE MARINE RE- VIEW, ONE YEAR, $2, THE PRICE OF ONE.