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BLOCKADE AT LIME KILNS. Matters a somewhat critical state at the Lime Kiln Cross- ing during the past several days. The eastern channel near the mouth of the Detroit river was completely blocked by the barge Montezuma upbound in tow of the steamer Rappahannock, running hard aground on the east bank: The stern of the vessel swung across the channel, the passage to have been in closing shipping. To add to this calamity,. the steamer Sonoma ran ashore on 'the west side of the west channel just north of the Lime Kilns, striking the lightship and setting it adrift. tunately the steamer went on parallel Hor LOADED BUCKET CLEARING THE HATCHES, with the shore with its stern project- ing but slightly into the channel. If her-stern had swung across as did the Montezuma's, navigation between the upper and lower lakes would have been completely blocked. As it was, a pat- rol had to be established enforcing the rule that all upbound boats should wait below the crossing until all down- bound boats had passed. The lighter Newman was set to work at once upon the Sonoma, to lighter her cargo of ore. She was released Wednesday. FREIGHT SITUATION. No unusual features have marked lake trade during the past week. Ves- sels are getting good dispatch in port, though their movement in the open lake has been delayed somewhat by fog during the past few days. Dis- patch, however, cannot be in any sense complained of. It is. . quite likely that the ore movement during June will break all records for any one month. Coal, too, is moving forward freely, with premiums being paid to "'TAE Marine. REVIEW smaller ports. These two trades are practically taking all tonnage that is offered, so that the grain rate has been marked. up a bit in order to attract tonnage. FREIGHTERS FOR 1908. Mr. G. A. Tomlinson of Duluth has given contract. to .the. Great Lakes Engineering. Works for two freighters for 1908 delivery. The vessels will be duplicates and will be 564 ft. over all, 544 ft. keel, 58 ft. beam-and 32 -ft. deep. Their engines will be triple expansion with cylinders 24, 37. and 65. in. dia- meters by 42 in. stroke: . Steam will be supplied by two Scotch boilérs, 16 ft. in diameter and 12 ft. long, allow- ed 170 lbs. pressure.. The new steam- ers will be. operated by the Mutual Steamship Co. which has been. incor- porated at. St. Paul, Minn., for that purpose. 'LEATHER BOUND RED BOOKS. The Marine Review has .in_ stock twenty .copies of the Great Lakes Red Book, beautifully: bound: in leather and edge with gold leaf. .The books make an €& remely 'appropriate gift from a busiriess house to its customers. _ The lot will be sold for $20 flat and the first or- der received in this office gets: them. PERSONAL. Joseph Ripley has resigned his posi- tion as one of the consulting engineers of the Panama Canal Commission. Mr. Ripley was for many years in charge of the canal at Sault Ste. Marie, and his appointment as consulting engineer of the Panama canal was made with especial reference to his knowledge of the design of locks. vator, or to a. shipping bin. '26 SHORTAGES OF CANADIAN : GRAIN. The following letter, published in. the Buffalo Commercial, is of interest: The letter which you quoted yester- day from the Marine Review of 13th inst., referring to recent shortages of 1,986 bu. oats and 3,738 bu. wheat, on five vessels from Fort William and Port Arthur, covers one point only. The large elevators at loading ports have a number of scales on the weighing floor near the top of the house. Under each scale hopper is a short spout to con- nect with one of a nest of long spouts to carry grain to vafious parts of the ele- In some SHOWING OPERATOR'S CARRIAGE, THE BUCKET HAVING DFSCENDED INTO THE. wee houses the shipping bins. are -double-- one back of the other--with an opening to the outer one. cue ~ Each scale | hopper has a slide bottom, by which grain can, by a little careless- ness, be cut off in the hopper and again weighed as part. of a new draft.' A spout misplaced on the floor below the weigh- man can. send the grain to the wrong bin, a spout may wear through, or, if it has cut off gates for different bins, grain may leak into other bins, Where there are double shipping bins the opening to the outer one may become clogged, prevent- ing the passage of grain to the boat. In spouting grain to shipping bins it may overflow into another bin--the ves- sel losing it. And it can be left in the shipping bin by a little carelessness, as the Marine Review letter ae and an- other may get it. All these things can occur, and all of them have occurred. What happens in loading the five cargoes I do not know. We stil] hope to find the cause. Junius S. Smiru. Lake Weighmaster, Corn Exchange, of the Chamber of Commerce.