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28 MARINE REVIEW. [November 21, ITEMS OF GENERAL INTEREST. Superintendent Partridge of the New York state_department of public works has issued an order that all the canals of the state be closed for navigation at midnight, Saturday, Nov. 30, unless sooner closed by ice. Ships of the Detroit & Cleveland Navigation Co., the large side-wheel liners operating between Detroit and Cleveland, and between Detroit and Mackinaw, will be laid up shortly. The last boat on the Lake Huron division leaves Detroit on the 25th inst. and the last boat between Cleve- land and Detroit will leave Cleveland Dec. 10. English journals announce that Sir Wm. H. White is about to resign his post as director of naval construction and assistant controller of the navy. He has rendered valuable service to the British government and has for many years been held in great respect in ship building circles 'throughout the world. The steel steamers of the Northwestern Steamship 'Co.'s fleet, so- called Counselman boats, which made a trial during the past summer of direct trade between Chicago and Liverpool, are now on the Atlantic seaboard. James W. Elwell & Co. of 24 State street, New York, agents for the vessels, announce that two of them will be fitted up for the Texas oil trade and that the other two will trade between New York, Fernan- dina and Savannah. A quarterly dividend of 134 per cent. was paid on the 20th inst. by the Great Lakes Towing 'Co., which controls the harbor tug business of the lakes. This company met with reverses on account of competition in its first year, but is now said to be in quite prosperous shape. It is thought that one of the dividends passed during the present year will be paid with the next quarterly dividend in February. German liners are holding fast to the lead they have gained in fast trips on the Atlantic. The Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse on her last west- ward voyage lowered her own record by fifty-eight minutes. She covered 3,052 miles from Cherbourg to New York in 5 days, 16 hours and 14 minutes, or at the rate of 22.41 knots an hour. Her old record was 5 days 17 hours and 12 minutes, and her best hourly average for a westward trip 22.33 knots. Every day throughout the voyage was hazy or cloudy, and the vessel was detained at Southampton thirty-six hours by fog. The American Ship Building Co. is still taking orders for new vessels, although its capacity in the various yards around the lakes is taxed until July next. A contract was closed, a few days ago, with Mr. A. B. Wolvin of Duluth, representing the Provident Steamship Co., an organization evidently made up by Mr. Wolvin for the building of the vessel. The new vessel is to have over all length of 376 ft., keel 356 ft., beam 50 ft., depth of hold 28 ft. Engines wili be triple-expansion with steam furnished by Babcock & Wilcox water-tube boilers. The ship will be built at West Superior. Ship yards on the Atlantic seaboard are not booking as many orders for new merchant vessels as they were at this time a year ago, but of course still have a large amount of work ahead. A few orders have been reported recently. These include a ferry boat for the Central Railroad of New Jersey, referred to elsewhere in this issue, and which is to be built by the Harlan & Hollingsworth Co. of Wilmington, Del.; a tank steamer 360 ft. long and of 1,500,000 gallons capacity, to be built by the Cramps of Philadelphia for the Standard Oil Co.; a steam yacht to be built by Lewis Nixon of Elizabeth N. J., for Mrs. Andrew Carnegie and to be named Skibo Castle; a steam yacht of 21 miles speed for Hudson river service, to be built by the Gas Engine & Power Co. of Morris Heights, New York, for Mir. John D. Archbold of the Standard Oil Co.; a 185-ft. steam yacht to be built by the Gas Engine & Power Co. for Frank Jay Gould. Capt. Willard Thomas of Baltimore, general manager of the Baltimore, Chesapeake & Atlantic Ry. Co., has sent out specifications to ship builders and has asked for tenders on a steel passenger and freight steamer of 190 ft. length. It is expected that the vessel will cost about $100,000. BENEDICT-NICKEL" i Seamless Condenser Tubes : resist Electrolysis. BENEDICT & BURNHAM MFG. CO. WATERBURY, CONN. New York, Boston, 253 Broadway. 172 High St. Vi WARING NY. FUSIBLE BOILER PLUGS. [Special correspondence to the Marine Review. ] Philadelphia, Nov. 20.--An echo of the fatal explosion on the City of Trenton has reached here in the shape of treasury department circular No. 98. It is from the office of the supervising inspector of steam vessels and deals with the composition of fusible plugs for marine boilers. 'Lhe circular states that manufacturers of fusible plugs, whether boiler makers or others, will be required hereafter to stamp names thereon for identifi- cation, and to file with the local inspectors in the districts where their plugs are in most general use a certificate stating that the fusible plugs manufactured by them are filled with good Banca tin. Supervising and local inspectors are directed not to authorize hereafter the use of any fusible plug not stamped with the maker's name. They are also directed to see that the certificate referred to is on file. While the inquiry into the explosion of the City of Trenton's boiler was being prosecuted it was proved that some of the plugs then in service in boilers had for a core a composition which refused to fuse at a temperature of fully 800°F. The inspectors testified that they were ignorant of the metal employed and that they did not see that the plugs were placed in the crown sheets of new marine boilers of the locomotive type, in the position cailed for by the treasury regulations. : The British steamship Ormley, in command of Capt. Webber, sailed from Point Breeze this week with what is probably the largest cargo of oil in cases ever shipped to the Orient. Her destination is Hiogo, Japan, and she is laden with 157,871 cases, each case containing 10 gallons of refined petroleum. The value of the shipment is $146,030 and a full three weeks was required for its loading. SHIP BUILDING AT WILMINGTON. Wilmington, Del., Nov. 20.--The Harlan & Hollingsworth Co. has just contracted with the 'Central Railroad Company of New Jersey for a ferry boat in addition to the one now under way, this making the third vessel for the Central company this year. Another steamer for the Old Dominion line of New York was launched at the Harlan & Hollings- worth works Saturday and named Brandon. A distinguished party of officials of the steamship company witnessed the launch. The Brandon is a single-screw, steel freight and passenger steamer of the following dimensions: Length over all, 213 ft.; length from fore side of stem to after side of rudder post, 205 ft. 2%4 in.; beam, molded, 37 ft.; width over guards, 43 ft.; depth, molded, 17 ft. 3 in. Her motive power consists of a triple-expansion engine with three cylinders, 18 in., 28 in., and 45 in. by 30 in. stroke, supplied with steam by two Scotch boilers, 12 ft. 9 in. diam- eter by 10 ft. 6 in. long and built to withstand a working pressure of 170 lbs. per square inch. The ship is built to class with the American Bureau of Shipping and with the United States Standard Register for coastwise service. The Brandon is the ninth vessel launched by the Harlan & Hollingsworth Co. this year. Orders still in hand, other than the two ferry boats above referred to, include a ferry boat for the Riverside & Fort Lee Ferry Co.; an auxiliary schooner yacht for Tams, Lemoine & Crane; tramp steamer Pathfinder for Messrs. Henry T. Knowlton and Amos D. Carver of New York, and two torpedo boat destroyers for the United States government. The Marine Iron Works, station A, Chicago, have just issued a new 48-page catalogue descriptive of their product, which they will send free on receipt of request. A separate pamphlet issued by the same company, devoted especially to "River Navigation" (shallow water stern whee boats), will also be included if asked for. Excursion rates to Florida via Baltimore & Ohio R. R. and Wash- ington, D. C., passing through the beautiful cities of the south. Stop over privilege allowed on all round trip tickets. Two fast trains leave Cleve- land daily at 3:00 and 11:20 p. m. Call at city ticket office, 241 Superior street. tf. --FOR SALE--We desire to sell the steamers Liberty, Barker, Tele- gram and Hunter, which have become too small to handle our business. The steamers are in first-class condition. Personal inspection invited and correspondence solicited. Purchaser can take possession at once. They are a bargain for any one desiring this class of boats. A. Booth: & Co., Chicago. Dec 5: For navigation charts apply to the Marine Review. THIS Standard Boller Maker's Punch ILLUSTRATES OUR which is similar to our iron worker's punch with the exception that it is equipped with a plain jaw instead of an architectural jaw. We be- lieve that this is the best punch for boiler makers on the market to-day, and for strength, reliability, and beauty of design we think it is un- equaled. We can refer you to hundreds of the largest shops all over the world where we have installed one or more of these tools, and where they are giving the best of satisfaction and service. Let us hear from you if you are in the market for a tool of this kind, We think we can interest you both as regards quality and price. THE CLEVELAND PUNCH & SHEAR WORKS CO., CLEVELAND, O., U. S.A. miei amaaiatittataenaeneaaectamnc atta aaa lit ictal LP eR