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HONORS are somewhat divided as to who commenced building metal vessels on the lakes, but the Detroit Dry Dock Company began earlier than any of its present competitors, and the year 1880 marked an epoch in this class of construction on the lakes, for during that year the company constructed two iron package freight steamers and an iron side-wheel passenger steamer, all of which are in service and rated Al. Mention of this would be unnecessary but for the fact that it has been claimed openly that metal vessels would not last five years, and here are three, the Boston, Lehigh and City of Milwaukee, that have passed a decade and are good for another. Metal in vessels is all right, but the way it is put together may be all right and may be all wrong. It is worthy of note that the last vessel to leave the yard during 1893 was f°r tne sam^ line f°r which the Boston was built, and the Mahoning, built in 1892, was for the same company that owns the Lehigh It might be expected that the City of Milwaukee would not be able to compete with modern passenger boats, but she met a modern twin-screw steamer built two years ago and the meeting was called a race. Iron was used in three more vessels in 1881—the Clarion, Wisconsin and Michigan, three propellers, two of which are going up and down the lakes still, the Wisconsin being engaged in the very severe work of transfering freight for the Detroit, Grand Haven & Milwaukee Railway between Milwaukee and Grand Haven, summer and winter. It is a peculiar fact that on the lower lakes no attempt is made at winter navigation, while two or three lines are kept running on Lake Michigan all winter. The Detroit Dry Dock Company built five of the seven or eight boats engaged in this traffic, as well as the two car ferries that transfer cars across the Straits of Mackinac. Two other iron steamers that came out the same season as the Wisconsin, were the Clarion and Lehigh for the Anchor line. When the same company wanted three more steamers twelve years later they were designed by, and one was built by the same company that built the Clarion. The steel package freighter Mahoning is referred to. She and her sisterships were the first of the "straight-back" style built on the lakes. This is another instance of the duplication of orders, mentioned in a previous paragraph.