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MARINE REVIKW. The President and the Navy. President McKinley's reference to requirements of the navy in his message to congress is simply an endorsement of the recommendations ot the secretary of the navy. "The present immediate effective force of the navy consists," the president says, "of four battleships of the first class, two of the second and forty-eight other vessels, ranging from modern crtisers to torpedo boats. There are under construction five battleships of the first class sixteen torpedo boats and one submarine boat. No (provision has yet been made for the armor of three of the five battleships, as it has been impossible to obtain it at the price fixed by congress. It is of great impor- tance that congress provide this armor, as until then the ships are of no fighting value. The present naval force, especially in view of its increase by the ships now under construction, while not as large as that of a few other powers, is a formidable force; its vessels are the very best of each type, and with the increase that should be made on it from time to time in the future and careful attention to keeping it in a high state of. effici- ency and repair, it is well adapted to the necessities of the country. The great increase of the navy which has taken place in recent years was justi- fied by the requirements for national defense and has received public approbation. The time has now arrived, however, when this increase, to which the country is committed, should for a time, take the form of in- creased facilities commensurate with the increase of our naval vessels. It is an unfortunate fact that there is only one dock on the Pacific coast capable of docking our largest ships, and only one on the Atlantic coast, and that the latter has for the last six or seven months been under repair and therefore incapable of use. Immediate steps should be taken to provide three or four docks of this capacity on the Atlantic coast, at least one on the Pacific coast and a floating dock on the gulf. This is the recommendation of a very competent board appointed to investigate the subject. There should also be ample provision made for powder and pro- jectiles and other munitions of war, and for an increased number of officers and enlisted men. Some additions are also necessary to our navy yards for the repair and care of our larger number of vessels. As there are now on the stocks five battleships of the largest class, which cannot be completed for a year or two, I concur with the recommendation of the secretary of the navy for an appropriation authorizing the construction of one battleship for the Pacific coast, where at present there is only one in commission and one under construction, while on the Atlantic coast.there are three in commission and four under construction, and also that several popaceo Peaks be authorized in connection with our general system of coast etense. . Fashionable Power of the Day. Geo. W. Dickie of the Union Iron Works, San Francisco, who has been known as an ardent advocate of hydraulic power for auxiliary pur- poses aboard ships, and especially ships of war, makes frank admission of a change of opinion in a paper on "Auxiliary Engines and Transmis- sion of Power on Naval Vessels," which was read, a few days ago, at the New York meeting of the American society of Mechanical Engineers. Mr. Dickie discusses in a very interesting way three methods of transmitting power--compressed air, electricity and hydraulic power--and concludes as follows: ae "The aim has not been to show the superiority of any one system over another, the comparisons made being simply to show that there is no mechanical difficulty in operating all auxiliaries by any one of the systems, and to express a hope that our government would either adopt some one system and carry it out complete, developing that system to its utmost efficiency, or else take one or two similar ships and fit them with power transmission systems completely representing different agents--say one electric, one hydraulic, and one compressed air. Let each be placed for three years in the hands of officers heartily in favor of the system in use on their own ship, and thereby obtain a practical demonstration of the very best points in each system. "While we have hitherto advocated with all the ability we possess a complete hydraulic system, our experience in the practical working of hydraulics on shipboard has not been of the most pleasant character. Officers are required to care for and get the best out of a hydraulic sys- tem, while personally they would rather sit up all night with an electric plant than spend a moment more than the law requires with a water motor. The iuture hopes of the young officer are centered in electricity, and he devotes himself to it with a will; and so long as that condition pre- vails, the electric method of transmission will have the best chance to suc- ceed, because with that it has a flexibility and a general adaptability which the other systems do not in themselves possess. The electric system would receive more skilful attention on the part of the officers in charge than any of the other methods. The whole installation would be more attractive to the educated engineer. It is the fashionable power of the day, and young men are more eager to give their attention to this than to any other form of generated energy; and if any system 1s the thing desired by those who are to have the operating of it, that system will give better results, will be more carefully nursed, ant will be studied in all its details, with the object of improving every result obtained. This is natural, and must be considered in connection with Bel Proposed advance in engineering methods. Some time ago we were t- ting the Howden system of forced combustion to a vessel, the CNEIDER of which did not believe in its merits; but he was honest, and assured us that he would do nothing to prevent it being a success. It was HSC OSBANY to find another engineer who would do everything he could to help make Ita success before success came. So the fact of electric Cee being desired by so many engineers is a point in its favor which w ies the care that means economy, apart altogether from the inherent qualities Of the system itself as compared with others. SS Army and navy charts for the lakes are kept in stock by the Ma Review, Perry-Payne building, Cleveland. rine 13 .Cutting Holes in Vessels' Sails. The newspapers some time ago contained accounts of the experiments of an Italian shipmaster who claimed that the speed of most sailing ships could be materially increased by making holes in their sails, The (talian captain held that in the ordinary sail a cushion of air is collected in the hollow or belly of the canvas, lessening the pressure of the wind on the sail, and thus retarding the speed of the vessel. To prevent this he cut holes in the sails of his ship, let the wind out, and claimed that he had in- creased the speed of his vessel to a considerable extent. He patented his discovery in Europe and mayhap in this country also. Niow a ship master from Nova Scotia has put the scheme to practical test. He is Capt. W. B. Butler of Yarmouth, an intelligent mariner who is in command of the British four-masted steel ship G. W. Wolff, owned by Samuel Lawther of Belfast, Ireland. The experiments were made while on a trip. from Eng- land to Pisaqua, Peru, and an account of the captain's conclusions have been forwarded to the New York Herald. He says: S you are more or less interested in maritime matters, perhaps the _ result of my experience in reference to a recent innovation recommended by an Italian ship master to increase the speed of sailing vessels may not be altogether uninteresting. I refer to the plan of cutting holes in the sails with the object of obtaining greater speed than could otherwise be hoped for. I have for a number of years cut out and made my own sails in preference to having them made on shore, and, naturally, the claim put forth by the Italian interested me from the first, so that, getting what information I could in regard to the size and location of the holes, I de- cided to try them. As a result of my experience I have arrived at the conclusion that it is only in what may be called 'baggy' sails that the holes will prove an advantage, elie argument used by the Italian is that in the ordinary sail a cushion of air is collected in the hollow of the sail, whereby the pressure of the wind on the canvas is lessened, and, consequently, the speed of the vessel. To obviate this, holes are made, affording an outlet to this air cushion. By doing this, the wind strikes directly wpon the canvas instead of the cushion, and better results in the way of speed were attained. To me this seemed a very reasonable argument, but it is not applicable to flat sails, as I have proved. America demonstrated to the world in 1851 the superiority ot flat sails over baggy ones, but, notwithstanding this, there are a few people who yet believe in baggy sails. It is a well known fact that Italian do not make as good voyages as do English or German ships of equal size and power. The reason is to be found in their baggy and ill-sitting sails. Who that has been much to sea cannot recall having passed Italian vessels with their topsails and topgallant sails hauled down on one side, while the other sides of the sails have been off from the yards a fathom or more? Sails made baggy and set after in this manner cannot be expected to in- fluence a ship as flat sails set properly can. "On a baggy sail the wind strikes first upon its edges, and from there, following the swell of the canvas, rushes from all sides to a common cen- ter in the sail where the holiow is greatest, filling this part of the sail with conflicting eddies. To cut a hole in this particular spot allows this air cushion to escape, and creates a draught, which it is reasonable to suppose miay be an advantage and gives color to the Italian's argument. I have tried these holes in my flat sails without effecting any apparent gain in speed. There are no hollows to fill with useless air, and I conclude that the wind after striking the canvas rushes off at the foot and sides of the sail. If any of your seafaring f-iends in New York are thinking of trying the Italian's plan, I would say to them, if they have flat sails, 'Don't!' If their sails are old and baggy, I think they may with advantage cut the hioles. In my case t have either to fill up the holes in my sails, or on my return to Europe pay a royality of $3,500 a year. There is no doubt in my mind which of these alternatives I shall choose." ; Stock 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, Dec. 4, 1897: Wheat, bushels. Corn, bushels. Ghicagoe 22s... Opel a Coen ake 5,614,000 17,764,000 a ae a ee ay he a 2,632,000 1,034,000 MINT Wale et is vie a cee h ose oe een Nee ae 146,000 178,000 DetrOite ties Genter ce oe ee eee 221,000 86,000 TEOLEMO A BORO. SMR ats, Melee ahaee 262,000 719,000 Buttalo seiee Se ee es eee 1,939,000 1,508,000 10,814,000 21,289,000 As compared with a week ago, the above figures show, at the several points named, a decrease of 146,000 bushels of wheat and 820,000 bushels of corn. On the same date there was afloat on the lakes 3,202,000 bushels of wheat, 2,326,000 bushels of corn and 2,218,000 bushels of oats. Grain afloat on the canals aggregated 17,000 bushels of wheat and 127,000. bushels of oats. The DeLaney Forge & Iron Co., Buffalo, has recently made con- siderable improvement in its plant, putting in a new boiler, 50-ton steam crane and additional furnaces. They have orders from the Chicago Ship Building Co. for the forgings for a steamer and barge and from F. W. Wheeler & Co. for engine forgings. New rudders were furnished the Aurania, Penobscot and Harlem. This company has furnished forgings for a large number of the principal lake steamers. A newer process of brazing is threatening the old-time flame method. That process is liquid brazing. It is of interest to all metal workers. Write the Joseph Dixon Crucible Co., Jersey City, N. J., for particulars. An up-to-date lithograph map of the Alaskan gold fields, printed in six colors, complete and accurate. If interested, send five 2-cent stamps to advertising department, Nickel Plate Co., Cleveland. Dec. 31, 393.