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December, 1909 has been 'betrayed into some errors of statement in what he cerning John Erricson in his paper upon the "Evolution of Screw Pro- pulsion in the United States." Erric- son's knowledge of and _ experience with many mechanical contrivances in common use today dated so far back of any existing recollections that he was supposed to have copied from others what he, in fact, originated himself, or certainly first brought into use... John -Bourne;..4C...8) sang his "Treatise' on the Screw. Propeller," London, 1852, speaks of Erricson as "well known" at the time he intro- duced the screw "as a mechanician of great originality and skill." (Page 87.) Bourne also speaks of the canal boat "Novelty" fitted in 1887 with Er- ricson's propeller as "the first exam- ple of a screw boat 'being employed for commercial purposes." Bourne further refers.to Efricson as "an: ac- complished engineer," whose mechan- ical resources were such that he "threw the dogmas of engineers to the winds, and coupled the immediately to the propeller." says con- The Robert F. Stockton. The Robert F. Stockton, which was equipped with Erricson's propeller, reached New York May 29, 1839, and nearly 30 years afterwards was. still doing duty on the Delaware and Rar- iton Canal. On Nov. 17, 1866, Bennet Woodcroft, then librarian of the British Patent Office wrote to Erric- son asking him to send 'the original engines of the Robert F. Stockton so that they might be placed in the Patent Office Museum. The Stockton, or New Jersey, was at this time in the possession of the Messrs. Stevens of Hoboken. Erricson offered to re- place the old engine with a new one, but without avail, and on Aug. 15, 1873, he wrote: 'Nothing could in- duce the Messrs. Stevens, who claim to be the originators of screw propul- sion, to permit the machinery of the real screw vessel to be placed in your museum. Accordingly, some time ago the Robert F. Stockton was hauled out of the water and cut .up, each plate being separated from the others, while the machinery was broken up and put into the melting pot. So careful were the parties mentioned to prevent the smallest part to remain as a proof that the remarkable vessel once existed, that 'not a vestige now remains, says my informant, who has access to the premises where the vile act of destruction took place. A meaner proceeding cannot well be imagined, but I expected nothing else, engine | TAE Marine. REvIEW since it leaked out during the negotia- tions what the old machinery was wanted for." This letter was in re- sponse to one from Mr. Woodcroft of. a month earlier saying)! Te benefit you have conferred on the world by the screw propeller is be- yond computation." Erricson's Screw in Revenue Cutters. Within five years of the time of Erricson's arrival in this country he had fitted his screw to the Revenue Cutters Legare, Jefferson and Spen- cer and by 1859 the Erricson propeller had been applied to six government vessels. The London Engineer of May. 11, 1866, said= "It is worthy of notice that Erricson applied his propeller to wpwards of 60 vessels in America (before any other form of propeller was adopted, nor is it less worthy of remark that the adoption of his propeller proved a great com- mercial success from the start, many of the original vessels being now, after 15 years of service, in good working condition." The Encyclopedia Brit- anica declared that 'a small vessel fitted with a propeller patented 'by Erricson was the first brought into practical use.' The Queen's Privy Council in renewing Erricson's Patent in 1850, passed favorably upon Erric- son's claim of the priority and merit of his invention. Dionysius Lardner in his popular Lectures on Science and Art, New York, 1846, says: "The triumphs of genius. are not unattended with alloy. The 'moment that any invention proves to 'be successful in 'practice a swarm of vermin are fostered into being to devour the legitimate profits of the inventor, and to rob genius of its fair reward. Capt. Erricson, so long as his submerged propeller re- tained the character of a mere ex- periment, was left in undisturbed pos- session of it; but when it forced its way into extensive practical use-- when it was adopted in the United States Navy and in the Revenue serv- ice--when the coast of this country witnessed its application in numerous merchant vessels--when it was known that in France and England its adop- tion was decided upon--then the dis- covery was made for the first time that this invention of Capt. Erricson's - was no invention at all--that it had been applied since the earliest dates in steam navigation. Old patents, some of which had been still-born, and others which had 'been for years dead and buried--were dug from their graves, and their dust brought into courts of law to overturn this inven- -agent, 485 tion and wrest from Capt. Erricson his justly-earned reward." Screws for Foreign Naval Vessels. The designs for the machinery of the first British naval steamer, the frigate Amphion, that carried a propeller was made in New York in 1844 by Erricson. A year earlier Count Von Rosen, Erricson's general received an order from tthe French government to ht a 44-gun frigate, the 'Pomone, with a propeller on the Erricson plan. Feb. 8, 1848, Count Von Rosen reported saying: "Now there are upward of 5,000 H. P. of engines made or in course of construction, applied or to be applied to screw ships on our system." This statement is confirmed 'by Bourne, who says: "Erricson's propeller hav- ing been the first successful propeller that was introduced into France, has in consequence obtained a wide ac- ceptation in that country." Not Erricson's Gun That Burst. Mr. Cramp says: "There were sev- eral short trials of the Princeton and the explosion of Mr. Erricson"s great gun on the last one killed many prominent guests, among them two members of the 'Cabinet." If Mr. Cramp will inquire further he will learn that it was not Erricson's gun, the "Oregon," that butst on the Princeton, but one made by Com- modore Stockton in imitation of it. In a letter addressed to me Sept. 18, 1890, Commodore William N. Folger, U. S. N., then Chief of'the Bureau: of Ordnance, said: "The 12-in.. gun, called the Oregon, is now at the Naval Academy, having 'been sent there in July, 1867." Stockton's gun split through the center under very moderate charge on the _ steamer Princeton. It had been previously injured by a hollow shot too large for the bore, which had 'been forced home with great effort. The word- ing of Mr. Cramp's paragraph from which I quote would indicate that the trials of the Princeton referred to by him terminated its career. On the contrary, so thorough was the work upon the Princeton that after serving through the Mexican war, and doing more duty than any other naval vessel, she was sent to Europe with- out being repaired. Her success was the final triumph of the principle of screw propulsion. -On her visit to the Mediterranean she attracted the attention of the curious and of the skillful engineers of every naval pow- er. Commodore Stockton says: "Her speed and sailing qualities, her ad-