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"hea MARINE REVINW. | i Steel Ships Built on the Lake. In a recent issue the REvinw printed a short extract from reports of the United States commissioner of navigation, showing that during the year ended with the 30th of last month the tonnage of new steel and iron vessels built on the lakes was more than double that of ves- sels of this class built in all other parts of the country. The complete statement is now at hand. It shows that during the year thirty steel and iron vessels of 72,966.88 gross tons were built on the lakes, while in all other parts of the country the number of vessels of this kind built was thirty-eight, but their aggregrate tonnage was only 36,394.77 gross tons. Thus the average tonnage of steel vessels built on the lakes was 2,432.23 gross tons, against an average of 957.75 gross tons on the coast. Following is the statement: VESSELS BUILT IN THE UNITED STATES AND OFFICIALLY NUMBERED BY THE BUREAU OF NAVIGATION DURING THE FISCAL, YEAR ENDED JUNE 30, 1896. WOOD. IRON. STERL. SAIL. STEAM. STEAM. SAIL. STEAM. I i Gross Gross Gross Gross Gross No.) tons. |N0-| tons. ||No-| tons. ||No-| tons. |No. tons. Atlantic and es Gulf coasts...|| 295} 39,237.89 | 101} 18,523.68 4| 562.67 1 59.84 | 31] 31,220.92 Pacfie coast..... 60} . 6,328.10 26 [i533 096.6 (aul ecuies | eeseeeene ee cca |llitsaeee lence en 2| 4,551.34 Great Lakes....}/ 25) 8,374.31 49} 10,739.59 1} 1,988.12 5} 15,008.66 24) 56,020 10 West'rnRivers 205975) 84 2; 7193.99 | eocoss |eetosac cee ecu eee |Neec Ores eee wiee sere ceo MNO Gallicsrceesscccc-- Ba 53,961.27 | 260} 40,753 93 5] 2,500.79 6] 15,068.50 | 57) 91,792.36 SUMMARY Year ending June | Year ending June 5 30, 1895. Number. |Gross Tons.||Number. |Gross Tons. MOtAIGS Alles. cect ccs. tccsekes Sorane ciecte nee aCe 387 69,029.77 399 56,990.87 AO GATE STC AM. cs. cence ece cote cetsscee caesoesseusesse 399 135,047.08 993 75,727.68 Grandeiotaless. ser xenon 709 204,076 85 682 132,718.55 Cutting Down Fuel Bills. Mr. C. B. Calder, superintendent of the Dry Dock Engine Works, Detroit, was in Cleveland Wednesday, and left with another order to apply the Howden hot draft to a wooden steamer. The order is from Capt. J. W. Moore for his steamer Colonial. Capt. Moore is greatly pleased with results obtained from application of the Howden draft to the steamer Marquette, in which the dry dock company also made a change of machinery. It is quite evident that officials of the Dry Dock Co, are congratulating themselves upon haying a good thing in the exclfisive right to make use of this system of draft on the lakes, especially as they are now satisfied that owners of wooden yessels of moderate capacity are realizing its advantages and they expect even a greater trade in equipping ships already in commission than can be obtained from the limited number of new vessels that will be built for some time to come. "It is only necessary to get the draft into one boat of a fleet," said Mr. Calder, "to satisfy owners, engineers and everybody else of its simplicity and advantages. Capt. Moore had one vessel fitted with it, and there was little difficulty in getting a second order from him. Air is cheap, and if it can be handled to reduce full bills why not use it? Fuel expenses are about the only expenses that can be reduced. Operating costs otherwise are reaching the limit of reduction. Labor and provisions are about down to the lowest possible mark, and anyhow the reductions made in these items are by no means as important as can be made in fuel. Advantages of this Howden draft are well illustrated by referring to the experience -- of pig iron manufacturers with hot blasts. The principle is practically . the same. What furnace man would think of runing to-day without a hot blast? Competition in other lines of business has brought about devices tending to economy in fuel. This same competition will require vessel owners to look after the leaks in their business. It is no longer a question of how many trips a ship can make at any cost | of operation, but rather how cheaply can she carry freight?" The number of ships on the lakes to which the Howden hot draft has been or is now being applied is thirty-two, and their aggregate horse power about 41,000. The list includes the Virginia, Pioneer, Chicora, Harvey H. Brown, W. P. Ketcham, Madigascar, Nicaragua, Argo, Schooleraft, Rappahannock, Sacramento, Penobscot, Mowhawk, Mohegan, Progress, 8. R. Kirby, R. P. Ranney, A. McVittie, Mar- quette, Iron Age, Pleasure, Arrow, City of Buffalo, City of Alpena, City of Mackinaw, Senator, Aragon, two steamers now nearing com- pletion at ship yard of Capt. James Davidson, Robert Fulton, Sir Wm. Fairbairn and Colonial. After making one trip with altered engines and with a new boiler having Howden draft, the engineer of the Marquette, which is the steamer of Capt. Moore's fleet referred to above, wrote as follows: 'We burned about ninety-five tons of nut coal--price $1.90 a ton-- from Cleveland to Ashland by way of Hancock and thence to Chicago, which was, of course, about equal to a round trip from Cleveland to the head of Lake Superior and return. We carried 135 pounds of steam going up, and made 9} miles an hour with eighty turns, loaded. Coming down with a cargo of ore we made seventy-seven turns on 125 pounds of steam and averaged 9 miles an hour. On the last trip with our old boiler and engine we burned 222 pounds of coal per mile; on this trip we burned 122 pounds per mile. In reality the figures representative of the new boiler and engine should be a little lower than Ihave given them, as I did not deduct the coal used in port, and it may be noted also that on this trip we had to get up steam on a cold boiler twice. The boiler makes plenty of steam, and is working very well."' ; Ship Yard Matters. Following are some notes from a Detroit correspondent: 'Mr. MeVittie and other officials of the Detroit Dry Dock Co. are greatly pleased with the new freight steamer Senator. They were informed, after her arrival at South Chicago, that she made the run, light, from Mackinaw to South Chicago, 342 miles, in 264 hours, or at an average speed of 13 miles an hour. The Senator is not a high-powered boat, as compared with other ships of the 400 foot type, but everybody interested in her is declaring that she will be very economical, Her engines are about the size of those in the E. C. Pope. Cylinders are 22, 35 and 58 inches diameter by 44 inches stroke. Notwithstanding numerous delays on account of holidays and bad weather, it is still the intention of the management at Wyandotte to launch the first of the Rockefeller steamers on Saturday of this week. Her engines are ready at the Orleans street yard, and a rapid finish of the ship may be expected after she is launched. The passenger steamer City of Cleve- land has had some repairs to machinery at the Dry Dock Engine Works recently and will haye a new cylinder fitted next fall. Other small jobs by the of. the dry dock company include a new wheel for the steamer R. P. Ranney and new keelsons for the steam barge Peshtigo. The Detroit Sheet Metal and Brass Works have been ship- ping metal life boats , and a large quantity of cabin hardware, etc., to Toronto for the passenger steamer building there to take the place of the boat burned some time ago at Niagara."' A Milwaukee dispatch says that Mr. Gregory Hurson and others interested in the new passenger steamship line, organized about a year ago for general service on Lake Michigan, are planning for the eon- struction of two steel steamers with state room accommodations for about 500 passengers each. They will, undoubtedly, find ship builders ready to give them low prices on steamers of this kind, if they can provide the necessary funds in these times of close money conditions. The scheme is said to contemplate the use of the Christopher Colum- bus for day service between Chicago and Milwaukee, and it is said that the order for the new boats, if plans are completed as now out- lined, will go to the barge company at West Superior. James Davidson launched on Saturday last one of the two big wooden steamers which he is building at West Bay City. She was named Appomattox. Her dimensions are 332 feet by 42 feet by 23 feet 4 inches. The second of these steamers will be launched shortly. At the Globe yard, Cleveland, on Saturday the second Rockefeller steamer was launched, and named Sir William Siemens. This steamer is a duplicate of the Sir Henry Bessemer, which is fully described and illustrated in the REviEw of April 30. Official numbers and tonnage: Steam--Senator, Detroit, 4,048.75 tons gross, 3,178.66 net, No. 116,725; John Ericsson, Superior, 3,200.79 tons gross, 2,378.27 net, No. 77,226. Sail--Manitou, Cleveland, 31.07 tons gross, 29.48 net, No. 92.728. The rate to Boston via the Nickel Plate road is lower than via other lines. Through sleepers and diners at your service, too. 199-July 31.