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, } MARINE REVIEW. Vor. EX. CLEVELAND, O., MAY 31, 1894. No. 22. Launch of the Kearsarge--Other Ship Yard Work. It was intended to launch the Interlake company's steamer Kearsarge at the ship yard of the Chicago Ship Building Company to-day (Thursday). The Kearsarge is a notable vessel, differing considerably in design and construction from any other lake freighter. Her principal dimensions are: Length of keel, 328 feet; length over all, 346 feet; beam, moulded 44 feet; depth, moulded 27 feet 6 inches; depth of water bottom 4 feet 6 inches. The ship is built to the rules and under the inspection of the United States Standard Register. It was at first intended to use channel frames, but as the desired size could not be obtained without a serious delay, bulb angle frames were used. Channel frames are, however, used throughout for the floors and beams, making a construction that can be easily worked, and at once remarkably strong and light as well as econom- ical. It is estimated that the gain in strength and lightness is full 15 per cent. over ordinary construction. The Kearsarge is intended for either the iron ore or package freight trade. She has a wood main deck, nine hatches and twelve gangways, six on either side, and a full outfit for handling package freight, and as she was constructed especially with a view to taking advantage of the 20-foot waterway throughout the lakes, she is expected to be an exceptionally large carrier. The first plate of this boat's keel was not laid until Feb. 5, 1894, and it is expected that she will leave the ship yard on July 1, or in less than five months after con- struction was begun. Engines and boilers were built by the Cleveland Ship Building Company, and work'on this part of the ship was fully up with the rapid construction of the hull. The engines are triple expansion with cylinders 23, 38 and 62 inches by 40 inches stroke. Two Scotch boil- ers are 14 feet diameter and 13 feet long. The harbor tugs J. R. Sprankle and Marguerite, built by the Globe Iron Works Company for L. P. & J. A. Smith, Cleveland, were also pre- pared for launching this week. The third of these boats, launched some time ago at the same yard, is ready for service. The J. R. Sprankle is 44.77 tons gross and 23.63 net, and her official number is 77,138. The tonnage of the Marguerite is 27.07 gross and 13.54 net; and her official number is 92,588. These tugs although small are undoubtedly the most complete metal boats ever built on the lakes. Deep Sea Phenomena. A practice common among sailors when desirous of securing a small quantity of cool water on Lake Michigan or Lake Superior is to sink an empty jug with lead and line to a distance of 30 or 40 fathoms and draw the water from the bottom of the lake. The jug is corked before it is lowered, but the pressure of water from above is sufficient when a certain depth is reached to force the cork inward and allowthe jug to fill. In raising the jug to the surface the water taken in when the cork was re- moved is not replaced by the warmer water near the surface, and a cool drink is assured. Of course, it is necessary to see that the cork is not 'too tight and that it is cut off even with the top at the neck of the jug. A sequel to this experiment, which has interested so many people on the lakes, is found in astory told recently by a naval officer : "We had been on a long cruise,' so one of the officers of the United States steamer Albatross is made to say, "and were down near the tropics at Christmas time. Of course, we observed the day as well as was possi- ble under the circumstances, and one of the features was a fine dinner. We had some champagne on board, but the weather was quite hot, and, having no ice, we were at aloss to find a way to cool the wine, which could not be endured as it was. During our cruise we had-been making many deep-sea soundings, and it dawned upon us that by sinking the bot- tles down in the sea about half a mile we could find water cold as ice. This was an inspiration, so we thought, and we immediately sent down a lot on a wire for refrigeration. At the proper time it was drawn up and placed on the table, and we found the bottles delightfully chilled. When the steward opened them, however, there was no 'pop' to the cork, and the wine looked flat and bad when served. What was our astonishment upon tasting it to find that it was pure salt water! I thought at first that it was a bad practical joke, and ordered more wine to be sent down into the cold sea water, but when it was opened we were disgusted to again find only salt water instead of sparkling champagne. You are probably puzzled to find a solution to the matter. Well, itis very simple. At the depth to which we sank the wine, the pressure is enormous--so great, in fact, that the salt water was forced into the bottles through the pores in the corks, and, being more dense than the wine, completely displaced it." Richard P. Joy. Readers of the REVIEW and other journals devoted to shipping have become familiar with the writings of Richard P. Joy of Detroit, Mich., on the subject of protection to our merchant marine. Mr. Joy belongs toa family of ship owners and ship builders. His grandfather, James P. Joy, previous to 1812, built ships at Durham, N. H., and a natural interest in marine matters has led him to astudy of relations between the govern- 'ment and the shipping interests. He is of the opinion that American shipping engaged in foreign commerce has been and is declining from lack of protection. He holds that the American steamship cannot com- pete with foreign steamships, having the benefit of mail subsidy, naval reserve subventions and bounties, nor can the American tramp or sailing vessel be operated against the discrimination of British Lloyds insurance in favor of British vessels and the low wages paid to British seamen, with- out our government extending some encouragement or protection to American vessel owners. He believes in returning to the old system of discriminating duties highly favorable to American ships, and thus saving to the people of the United States the enormous sum of two hundred millions of dollars now paid abroad yearly to foreigners for transportation. We are indebted to the American Shipbuilder of New York for the por- trait of Mr. Joy appearing herewith. In a letter to the REvIEw recently, Mr. Joy says: "The question of free ships is at present attracting some attention, and I hope public opinion will soon demand that justice be done our shipping interests, which at the present time labor under burdens sufficient to crush any in- dustry. Any bill providing for free ships, whether it permits a foreign vessel to be enrolled under the Ameaican flag, provided a vessel of like tonnage be built in this country, or whether it permits free ships pure and simple, isa step in the wrong direction. Mr. Fithian is like the captain who seeing that something was wrong with his vessel and that she was sinking, took an auger and went below to bore a hole in the ship's bottom to let the water out. He does not take the trouble to investigate the real cause of the trouble. What he should do is to plug the leaks." The hydrographic office will soon try a new plan for ascertaining the speed and direction of ocean currents. It will experiment with larger bottles than those heretofore used, shaped like a decanter, the base to be wide and bulky and the neck to be long and slender. The outside is to be stamped with the letters "H.O." and the number. The long neck of the bottle will cause it to stand vertically, and the color and size, it is believed will attract attention. The first trial will take place within the next month or two, when a number of the bottles will be taken to sea and cast adrift.