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

M A Rote E cther vessel in the navy, being, at the normal draught, 109-ft. 84 in. amidships, 34 ft. at the stem, and 21 ft. 6 in. at the stern. The high freeboard insures good seagoing qualities, gives great range of stability and provides a safe and dry vessel under all conditions of weather. On account of the high freeboard it has been possible to provide commodious quarters for the officers and crew, well above the waterline. A forecastle has been provided above the main deck, for about one-quarter of the length, and deck houses have been arranged abaft the forecastle. Ample subdivision has been made to insure the vessel keeping afloat with no resulting serious change of trim or loss of stability if several of the compartments are pierced. In planning the structural details the greatest care has been exercised to provide a hull which shall combine with lightness the strength and stiffness necessary to successfully withstand the severe shocks which the vessel may be called upon to undergo, and particular attention has been paid to the longitudinal strength of the vessel and to the strength of the watertight bulkheads, that they may be able to with- stand the pressure due to the flooding of any compartment and thus avoid endangering the vessel as a whole. The hull will be built of steel throughout. Two longitudinal bulkheads will be worked continuous throughout the engine and boiler spaces, one on each side, extending from the bottom of the vessel to the main deck, and inclined slightly inboard at the top. Jn order to avoid any break in the con- tinuity of the strength of the vessel the upper and lower strakes of these bulkheads will extend well beyond the limits of the machinery spaces, forming large brackets gradually tapered off. Between these longitudinal bulkheads, and ex- tending throughout the boiler and engine room, an inner bottom will be worked, so that the vessel will be well pro- tected from injury in case of grounding. Five decks, designated as forecastle, main, berth, orlop and platform, respectively, will be worked, the main and berth decks being continuous from stem to stern. Nickel steel 'protection of 80 lb. per sq. ft. will be worked on the shell plating for the length of the machinery space includ- ing the dynamo room, extending from about 3-ft. 4-in. below the waterline, to about 9-ft. 6-in. above, abreast the engine and dynamo rooms and 6-ft. 6-in. above, abreast the boiler rooms. At the forward end of the machinery space and the after end of the dynamo room, partial athwartship bulkheads of 40-lb. nickel steel will be fitted, of the same depth as the adjoining side protection. Nickel steel protection will also be fitted in wake of the steering engine. The battery consists of twelve 3-in. rapid-fire guns and two 2t-in. submerged torpedo tubes. 'The disposition of the battery is as follows: One 3-in. gun on the forecastle deck, and one on the main deck aft, with a large and unobstructed arc of fire in each case; two 3-in. guns, one on each side on the main deck forward, mounted in sponsons and two 3-in. guns, one on each side of berth deck aft, having an arc of fire from dead ahead or astern, respectively, to about 25 degrees forward and abaft of the beam; six 3-in. guns mounted in the waist on the main deck, three on each side. Two submerged torpedo tubes of the side-loading type with all necessary accessories, including air compressors and accumulators, will be installed in the torpedo room forward, one on each side. 'Four torpedoes for each tube will be carried. The magazines have been so arranged that about half the total supply of ammunition will be carried at each end of the vessel, and four ammunition hoists driven by con- stant speed electric motors will deliver ammunition to the guns. Battle order and range indicators will be fitted in ac- cordance with the usual naval practice. : The engines will be of the vertical, twin-screw, four cylinder, triple-expansion type, located in separate compart- R & Vo a ff 17 ments, of a combined indicated horse power of 16,000, so arranged for outboard turning propellers when going ahead. The steam pressure in the high pressure receiver will be 250 lb. The stroke of the engine will be 3 ft, and the cylinder diameters will be sufficient to give the required indicated horse power at about 200 revolutions per minute. The necessary auxiliaries and accessories will be provided in accordance with the practice of the bureau of steam engineer- ing. There will be twelve water tube boilers of the "Express" type, placed in three watertight compartments, with a total grate surface of 693 sq. ft., and a total heating surface of 37,080 sq. ft. The working pressure will be 275 lbs. per sq. in. The steaming capacity will be such that all the steam machinery can be run at full power with an average air pressure in the firerooms of 5 in. of water. Four smoke pipes, each 75 ft. high above the base, will be fitted. An evaporating and distilling plant capable of evaporating and condensing 16,000 gallons of water per day will be in- stalled, and a refrigerating plant of 2 tons capacity will also be fitted. The vessel will be steam heated throughout. The vessel will be lighted throughout by electricity, about 600 incandescent lamps, twenty-two arc lamps and two 60-in. searchlights being contemplated. To supply the current for these lights and the various electric driven auxiliaries about the ship, deck winches, ammunition hoists, ventilation sets, air compressors, etc., three 32 kilowatt steam-driven generating sets, of 125 volts pressure at the terminals, will be installed in the dynamo room on the platform deck aft. Two stockless anchors arranged to stow in the hawse pipes, and one navy type anchor stowed on a billboard will be fitted, with complete arrangements for handling and stowing the same, The windlass will be of the vertical spindle type, with two wildcats and gypsy heads, and will be installed on the main deck forward. The steam steering gear will be of the usual navy type, with the steering engine located in a separate watertight com- partment aft, and with the usual steering stations in the chart house and on the bridge. Two masts will be provided, the foremast being fitted for the installation of wireless tele- graph. A room for the wireless telegraph instruments will be located on the main deck amidships. The chart house and emergency cabin in the after end of the forecastle deck will be of bronze. The chart house and the bridge above wil! be supplied with the usual steering stands, engine telegraphs and indicators. The arrangement of the quarters provides accommodation for a commanding officer, twelve wardroom officers, five war- rant officers, and 340 men. 'The quarters for the officers are located in the after portion of the vessel with the usual state- rooms, messrooms, etc., as customary in the naval service. -- The amidship and forward portions of the vessel are given up to the crew, with the usual lavatories, dispensary, sick bay, etc. Quarters for the chief petty officers are provided on the orlop deck forward. The houses on the main deck contain the galleys, bakery, breadroom, blacksmith shop and wire- less telegraph room. A large workshop is provided on the berth deck between the engine hatches, and the firemen's wash- rooms are also located on the berth deck, between the up- take enclosures. The following boats will be carried on the vessel and will be handled by davits: one 28-ft. steam cutter, one 33-ft. launch, two 30-ft. cutters, three 28-ft. cutters, one 30-ft. whale boat, one 30-ft. gig, and one 14-ft. dinghy. Charles Selover, one of the most extensive canal boat buiiders in the Tonawandas, is now getting his canal boats at the New York end in readiness for operation. A busy season on the canal is expected.