SHIPS OF PUMICE-STONE.
An American company, with a capital of £50,000,000, has been formed to construct ships of pumicestone.
This substance, which is the scum or froth of the lava thrown out during volcanic eruptions, would seem to be admirably adapted, in one respect at all events, for the purpose indicated, seeing it is so light that it floats easily on the surface of the sea. It is, however, very porous, so that it soaks up water readily. This, of course, would in the ordinary way render it useless for building snips; but a method has been found of overcoming the difficulty. The hull of the pumice-stone vessel, after being completed, is coated all over externally with a kind of black silica called tnga, a glass-like substance, also found in the debris of old-time volcanic eruptions.
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Cromwell Argus, Volume L, Issue 2649, 24 November 1919, Page 7
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136SHIPS OF PUMICE-STONE. Cromwell Argus, Volume L, Issue 2649, 24 November 1919, Page 7
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