THE NAMES OF SHIPS.

Press, Volume XLVI, Issue 7253, 8 March 1889, Page 2

THE NAMES OF SHIPS.

Very curious and fanciful are the namet of ships, and yet the system of nomenclature seems likely at last to become something of a science. In other words, if the custom followed at present by most of tie great shipping companies be persevered in, it will be possible to tell most of the steamers, at all events, the port and firm to which they belong, simply from hearing the vessel's name. To take a few instances, nearly all the Cunarders, the 1 oldest Tranalautic line, are called after countries whose final letters are "ia,"as the Etruria. Gallia, and UrabrJa. Then the Inrnan Line are all cities. The cities of Antwerp, Berlin, Brooklyn, Brussels, New York, Paris, Richmond, Chester, and Chicago. The Allan Line have their names from the inhabitants of countries, •as the Moravian, Polynesian. Scandinavian, Prussian, Sarmatian, Parisian, Peruvian, and Caspian. The National Line are the England. France, Holland, Spain, Egypt, Italy, and Queen. The White Star Line all end in "ie," at the Adriatic, Baltic, Celtic, Britannic, Germanic, Oceanic, and Republic. The Guion Line running under the American flag are called after the territories annexed by the United States, as the Idaho, Nevada, Dakota, Montana, Wyoming, Arizona, Alaska. The State Line comprises the States of Georgia, Louisiana, Minnesota, and so on. So much for the Eaglish-Ainerican lines. Until lately the South American and River Plate steamers were all called after celebrated astronomers, as the Galileo, Tycho Brache, Donatl, Kepler, Copernicus, &o. Latterly, however, they teem to have I imagined that they have exhausted the astronomers, and have turned to the painters instead, and so we have the Vandyck, the Rubens, and the Teniera. Nearly all the " Wilsoa!' steamers whleh trade from Hull have names ending In "o," as the Argo, Bravo, Eldorado, Hidalgo,, Leo, Virago, Xantho, &c The Belfast mail boats to Glasgow were a few years ago mostly called after beasts and insects. The Raccoon, Camel, Llama, Buffalo, Bear, Hornet, Wasp, Gorilla, Dromedary, Alligator, Hare, Owl, Bu* zard, Snipe, aud W.poacock. " The LoriaTsn"t6'CSffcbtfata; "6tf tlfe contrary, are all biro's, or very nearly all, inasmuch as with infinite pains they have been able to give bird-names beginning with every letter of tiie alphabet to theft vessels. "In some cases they were easy enough, as the Albatross, Bittern, Coot, Dodo, Egret, Flamingo, Grebe, Hoopoe, Lestrie, Moorhen, Ouzel, etc., but in other instances it has not been so easy. "B they surmounted with Rallus (the corncrake), but the letter " U " was a difficult one to tackle. Tackled, however, ib WM with the Upupa, the Latin for the Hoopoe, but probably pronounced by many aa though it had some relation to the canine tribe. The Preussicher Adler, too, (orU ginally a Royal Prussian yacht) turned oat fortunately for this arrangement, though generally distorted into Paddler (P. Adler) by the uninitiated. Neither "V" nor " Z " appear to have been yet reached. The Clyde Shipping Company call their vessels after celebrated lighthouses, as Copeland, Skerryvore, Sanda, Cumbraes, Duumore.