The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

eS ee ee MARINE REVIEFW. 13 Kunstadter Steering Screw. An article on fire boats in Cassier's Magazine for May refers to the Knunstadter steering screw, which was fitted to one of the Cleveland fire boats, and which was first brought into prominence about twelve years ago. At that time the screw was tried with quite satisfactory results on a number of vessels, both in the United States and in Europe. Since then, however, comparatively little has been heard of the device, notwithstand- ing its admitted excellencies in some respects. A small sketch of the screw appears herewith. It will be noticed that the steering screw, or after screw, shaft is carried through the rudder and is connected with the main propeller shaft by a universal joint, so that it may be be turned with the rudder, either to port or starboard, up to an angle of 45 degrees and thus add its influence to that of the rudder in turning the vessel. One immediate result is that the rudder may be made much smaller than would ordinarily be the case without detracting from the maneuvring capacity of the vessel, and with the usual proportions of rudder and screw, relatively to size of hull, the steering screw would cause a vessel, soit has been claimed, to make a complete circle, for example, in half the diameter required with the rudder alone. Despite this maneuvring superiority, however, the Kunstadter apparatus does not seem to have gained much favor in the past dozen years, due probably to the fact that it may not lend itself satisfactorily to use on large vessels because of constructive difficulties, and because also on small craft its advantages are not so marked, comparatively speaking, nor of such great importance as to make it particularly worth having, except in special cases. Stocks of Grain at Lake Ports. The following table, prepared from reports of the Chicago board of trade, shows the stocks of wheat and corn in store in regular elevators at the principal points of accumulation on the lakes on May 9, 1896: Wheat, bushels. Corn, bushels. Chicago....... ab istecs » Bebe e broaseenes oooee15.242,000 5.142 000 Duluth....... adcenedeinede sieicon als eto sect alae oe QETSCHOOO cr test find is base Fae bass Milwaukee. ..........0.006 UeEPRH IRE . 820,000 2,000 WDE CO teravekcit<,cohiie t okae. Goxtte. 205,000, 22,000 PIGECO) a ercscescceccdrastih. .aiwcssucneterenes 21 0.083000 91,000 MEAL OWE by. suceassessoal-xeisessibsavnatea 1j252\000 597,000 Bicsbal a sss cs oskvevs.cyopse hee erees eee 8 aek000 5,764,000 "As compared with a week ago, the above figures show at the several points named a decrease of 2,845,000 bushels of wheat and 1,166,000 bushels of corn. Anent the suggestion of Mr. M. A. Bradley in the MARINE REVIEW of last week that the name of Capt. Alexander McDougall should be given to one of the Rockefeller ships, we learn that the Bessemer Steamship Co. recognizes the seryices of Capt. McDougall in connection with the pro- gress of ship building, and if to honor American benefactors of ship building and the iron industry who are still living had been within the scope of their plans, the name of Capt. McDougal), with many other liv- ing men of distinction would not have been overlooked. Our informant adds that Capt. McDougall's connection with the Rockefeller interests would not have been a special reason for his selection, as further sug- gested by Mr. Bradley, since the selection of names was made on a wholly different principle. Jay C. Morse of the Illinois Steel Co. and Wm. I, Brown of Pickands, Brown & Co., Chicago, returned a few days ago, from a European trip. Low rate, short limit tickets between Cleveland and Lorain have been placed on sale via the Nickel Plate road at $1.00 for the roundtrip. 77-7-31 - One dollar round trip excursion tickets between Cleveland and Lorain are on sale by agents of the Nickel Plate road. 78 July 31 In General, e Provision is being made in congress for the printing of 10,000 copies of the report of the Nicaragua canal commission, together with all maps, plans, etc., accompanying same. The active efforts of the Cramps of Philadelphia in behalf of the Yar- row water tube boiler are due to the fact that they have purchased the right to manufacture these boilers in the United States. The contract fora steel tug 130 feet long for the Standard Oil Co., upon which lake builders were recently asked to submit bids, has been awarded to the Harlan & Hollingsworth Co., Wilmington, Del. For over forty years the late Gen. Casey was connected with the en- gineer corps of the army, and it is estimated that the expenditures made under him, directly and as chief of engineers, amounted to considerably over $100,000,000. Ship building on the Clyde is more active than it has been in a num- ber of years. During the month of April shipping to the extent of about 40,000 tons was launched, while new orders booked during the month footed up about 52,000 tons. John Birkinbine, engineer and statistician of Philadelphia, has just paid another visit to the lakes. He was in Cleveland Monday. Mr. Bir- kinbine always speaks in an enthusiastic manner of the great future of the lake region: He says he finds surprise everywhere in the east when he gives accounts, in lectures and in other ways, of the enormous traffic of the lakes. : : When the Fugi, a Japanese war ship, was launched recently in Eng- land the wife of the Japanese minister was chosen to perform the chris- tening ceremony. At the appointed hour a silver knife was put into her hand, and with it she cut a cord of twisted red and white silk fast to the vessel. At the moment acage that hung over the bows opened to let forth a number of pigeons, and with them a cloud of paper squares, show- ing the national colors. As they fell some sprinkled the bows and some clung to the sides, covering her, so to speak, with the emblem for which she is to do battle. There is no part of the world which has such a black record for wrecks as the narrow Baltic seas. The number in some years has averaged more than one a day, the greatest number of wrecks recorded in one year being 425, and the smallest 154. About 50 per cent. of these vessels became total wrecks, all the crews being lost. In the four years 1877-81 no less than 700 lives were lost. It must be noted with regard to these wrecks, however, that many of the vessels navigating these seas _ are old and ill found, especially those engaged in the timber trade. As it passed the senate, the navy appropriation bill contained an item directing the secretary of the navy to examine, through a board com- posed of line and staff officers, into the merits of any system presented for the propulsion of vessels by direct action against the water without the use of screws, in comparison with the steam engine and propeller, and into the relative efficiency of the two methods as to displacement, waste of fuel, liability to accidents, and speed endurance, and also into the applicability and special advantages of the direct system in connec- tion with torpedo boats and coast defence vessels. It is claimed now that in new orders for torpedo boat chasers the British admiralty will demand a speed 33 knots. This would be equal to 38 statute miles, or about the all-day speed of the best express trains. Such a speed will not be obtained with a horse power much ander 8,000. This is one-fourth the trial trip horse power of the Lucania. The Lucania is of 13,000 tons displacement, while these craft will probably be of less than 300tons displacement. Sothat the Cunard ship, which is forty-three times as big, takes only four times as much power to drive her at a speed better than 20 knots. More Holland submarine torpedo boats will probably be built if the navy bill is not greatly changed in the conference of committees of both houses of congress. The bill as it passed the senate authorizes the sec- retary of the navy to contract for the building of two boats of the Holland 'type, at acost not exceeding $175,000 each, the boats to be constructed. and delivered to the navy department within four months from the date of contract; provided, that the Holland boat now being built for the department shall be accepted as fulfilling all the requirements of the con- tract, and as being satisfactory to the secretary of the navy ; but no action - shall be taken therein until the Holland boat now being built shall be fully tested to the satisfaction of the secretary of the navy, and thereupon accepted. Here is asplendid opportunity of visiting the west. The Nickel Plate road has authorized low excursion rates to Ottawa, Kansas, on May 17, 21 and 22 for the annual convention of the Dunkards, which convenes at Ottawa on May 26. Tickets may be extended thirty days from date of issue by depositing them with the joint agent at Ottawa. The uniform courtesy of employes, the best of roadbeds, and the-splendid modern equipment of this line has made it the popular low rate line for all points west. 74-May 21