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THERE MARINE RECORD. EFFECT OF THE GULF STREAM. (John Eliott Pillsbury, ia The February Century.) ~ ‘The question is often asked, To what extent does the Gulf Stream modify the climate of the United States? To itssup- posed erratic movements is laid the blame of every abnormal season. ‘There is every cvidence that the Gulf Stream is gov- erned absolutely by law in all its changes. The course through the ocean is without doubt fixed. Its fluctaations are by days, by months, by seasons, or by years, and they do not vary ma- terially one from the other. Its temperature changes, depend- ing upon the relative heat of the tropical and polar seasons, and upon the strength of the producing trade-winds. The warm water may be driven toward the shore by the waves caused by a favorable wind, but the current remains in its proper place. The warm water gives off a certain amount of heat to the air above it, and if this air is moved to the land we feel the heat. The presence of the warm water on the coast of Europe would in no way modify the climate if the prevailing winds were easterly instead of westerly, If the prevailing winds of New England in winter were southeast instead of northwest the climate would be equal to that of the Azores Is- lands, mild and balmy, For the cause of abnormal seasons we may look to meteorology. The current is in its place ready to give off the heat and moisture to the air whenever the demand is made upon it, but by the erratic movements of the air this heat and moisture may be delivered at unexpected times and seasons, and thus give rise to the erroneous belief that the Gulf Stream itself has gone astray. — NAPHTHA LAUNCHES. HE WIDE APPRECIATION WHICH THE NAPH- tha launch is now receiving in yachting and pleasure circles has prompted us to obtain from the Gas Engine & Power Co., Morris Heights, N. Y., a cut of one of their hand- some little craft which we herewith illustrate for the benefit of those who have not given that attention to the naphtha motive power which the industry is so justly entitled to. The cut shows a 58 foot cabin cruising naphtha yacht carrying a 16° horse power motor which weighs only 800 lbs and con— sumes from five to six gallons of naphtha per hour. Besides the cleanliness of the motive power and the speed which may be obtained from its use, it is held forth as one of the strongest points in its favor that it requires no trained experience to handle properly the perfect little engines with which the yachts and launches are furnished, so that anyone after an hours experience may control the speed and conduct the boat wherever it may be desired, without the aid of a licensed engi- weer or pilot. Indeed, judging from the vast number of personal letters which the manu- facturers seem to Be loaded down with, there is no occasion for the person using a naphtha launch to have even a superficial knowledge of mechanism, ordinary care and intelligence haying been found amply sufficient to work the engines under all circumstances. These naphtha launches and yachts are now in use in all parts of the world and are built from 18 to 53 feet in length, elegantly fitted and furnished and pronounced by careful judges to possess superior qualifications in speed, buoyancy, sea-worthiness and facility in handling, and as the engines are placed well aft in the stern of the boat there is more space for seating capacity and deck room generally than can be found in any similar class or sized tonnage. The adoption of these launches by the several Government depart- ments is borne witness to by the Corps of Engineers, U.S. A. using them in connection with their River and Harbor work the Coast and Geodetic survey, also in Hospital and muarantine service and it would now appear that for protec'ed waters the naphtha launch will supersede steam entirely. ee THE ATLANTIC MUTUAL INSURANCE co. The annual statement of the Atlantic Mutual Insurance Co, adds one more to the long line of annual reports, all going rs show the excellent skill and judgment devoted to the com- pany’s interests by President John D. Jones, Vice-Presidents W. H. H, Moore, A, A. Raven and J. H. Chapman as well those who so ably second them in the work. Six per cant interest on the outstanding certificates of profits will be paid a or after February 2nd. On the same date the outstandin, cer. tificates of the issue of 1887 will be redeemed and malt A dividend of 40 per cent. is declared on the net earned pres qua ge ue company for the year ending December 31, 1891 ese a any other ways the compan :on~ firms its right to the leading position which i his loag bali ta the inland and marine transportation insurance atisead ay Jt is already well known that. the profils of the compa revert to the assured and are divided annually upon neh tes miums terminated during the year, thereby reducin, es a of insurance to the lowest possible figures conalatont® with th See te mise pasties for which the company ar r in 2, and its half centur: i i widest appreciation of the assurer a a Rate we Notes. A srramer is being built at Glasgow designed to beat the transatlantic record. With a length of 630 feet and a beam of only 70 feet very fine lines are obtained; and about 200 feet of the ship are devoted to boilers and bunkers. The engines are a pair of triples with four cylinders each, driving twin screws, and rated al 33,000 horse power.— Power New York. Tur Srrarron SEPARATOR Co., of 32 Cortlandt street, New York, haye recently furnished to the Columbian Iron Works & Dry Dock Co., of Baltimore, Md., several large separators for use in the new cruisers Nos. 9 and 10, which they are now con- structing for the Government. These separators are of the naval type especially constructed with steel shells and brass heads to meet the requirements of the United States Navy. In the article contained in our last issue from the pen of Mr. John Maurice on “Short hand method to find the magnetic force of a vessel,” the example should read SW—10° 30/ NW—19° 30/ the minus signs having been omitted through a typographical error, those of our readers who are following the discussion closely will kindly note the correctioa so that the series of articles will be strictly intelligble in each par- | ticular. A GurMAN authority states that four-fifths of the steam engines of the world have been constructed within the last quarter of acentury. The total horse power of these engines is estimated at 49,000,000, of which the United States takes the lead with 7,500,000, Great Britain 7,000,000 Germany 4,500,000, France 3,000,000 and Austria 1,500,000, Consider- ing that the horse power of an engine is equivalent on an aver- age to the power of seven men, the world’s steam engines represent the energy of 1,000,000 000 men, or double the num- ber of workers in the world. JupGE Brown, sitting in the United States Circuit Court, New York, last Thursday, handed down a decision in the fam- ous suit brought by Frederick W, Vanderbilt for the possesion of his British built steamyacht Conqueror, which was seized by the Collector of Customs for non-payment of duties. The de- cision of Judge Brown is to the effect that the vessel is not an ‘imported article’’ subject to duties, and, such being the case, he considers her seizure for custom duties illegal, and holds that Mr. Vanderbilt is entitled to a decree for possession of the yaclit with costs and damages. Tue report of Eleventh Lighthouse District, from Capt. O. F. Heyerman, Inspector, and Col. William Ludlow, Engineer Officer of the Eleventh Lighthouse District, which embraces Lakes Huron and Superior, upon the bills for aid to navigation recently prepared by the delegation of vesselmen from Cleve- land, and introduced in the Senate by Mr. Brice, and in ihe House by Mr. Vincent A. Taylor, is now before the committee. The report states, “all the aids designated are desirable and necessary for safe nayi- gation and guidance on the lakes, and all should be estab- lished.” he officers recommended, however, that if all can- not be granted and a choice must be made, the proposed lights on Traverse Island, and Rock of Ages, may be postponed to a DOUBLE JET INJECTOR. _ sh ACCOMPANYING CUT ILLUSTRATES 74 Garfield Double Jet Injector, manufactured by th Garfield Injector Co., Wadsworth O, This Injector jg designed specially for high lifts, and for working water 9 high temperature. There being no moy- able parts in the inside of the Injector depen- ding upon the action of steam or water for their proper movemen ff makes 1 absolutely 55 iyeny positive in its opera~ tion, and if properly attached and operated eannot fail. The Injector works equally well lifting or taking water under pressure, and on hot or cold water as gir. cumstances r quire. ‘They are always ready for work, starting — as low as 10 lbs steam and requiring no adjustment for varying — (steam pressures. An important and conyenient feature of the Injector is, that by removing the end caps all of the tubes can — ; be removed for examination, or for cleaning without disturb. | ing the pipe connections. 7 SUPPLY re ae + ee POSITION OF STEERING COMPASS, | Captain Lecky in his admirable ‘‘Wrinkles on Practical Navigation’’ ‘‘treating of the placing of a steering compass calls to mind a constant source of error which is somewhat frequ- ently overlooked,— he says:’’ tmp, ¢ 3 E 4 § 4 a £ i “Tn a large vessel where, to gain’power, the wheel is of cou= siderable diameter—say 7 feet or upward—two steering ¢com=" passes are absolutely necessary, each so placed, to starboard and ~ port, that the helmsman may have the compass direetly in front of him, no matter at which side of the wheel he may be stand: ing. If there shuuld happen to be but one compass, an errory, due to parallax, will be introduced in the course. Looking at the compass, in an oblique direction causes an apparent change in the relative positions of the lubber-line and the marginal divisions of the card—the greater the clearance between t edge of the card and the compass bowl, the greater the e Unless the helmsman can get the centre of the card and the lubber-point in one with his course, he is sure to steer to one side of it. Where, from the inconvenient closeness of a sky: light, stanchion, or other deck fixture, a single midship com: pass is unavoidably placed very near to the wheel, or is 80 placed because the steersman’s sight will not define the deg at a greater distance, this error or parullactie displacement o} the lubber-line is aggravated, amounting frequently to a ql a ter of a point. Now, in a moderate day’s rup of say 300 mi in thick weather, this becomes a serious consideration, affects the ship’s position at the end of it to the tune 0 miles, Henze the necessity for a compass directly facing later time, these being in their opinion less important than the others, The belief is expressed that the estimate of cost appen- ded to each item in the bill will be sufficient for its construe- tion before the Committee. steersman, which should be as far distant from him as m compatible with distinct vision; and to this end its di ought not, in the case of a spirit compass, to be less than ele’ inches,’”