SHIPS AND THE SEA

Evening Post, Volume LXXVIII, Issue 135, 4 December 1909, Page 12

SHIPS AND THE SEA

THE PHAROS. Professor Thierseh, in an article in a German magazine, gives some interesting particulars respecting the ancient Pharos of Alexandria. This antique lighthouse, ■whioh was reokonod among the seven, wonders of the world, has been for ages past the pattern for many other lighthouses, and its name lias become the generio appellation of lighthouses in. manylanguages ; for instance, from the Latin pharos h*ve been derived the Portuguese pharo, the French phare, and the Italian and Spanish faro. The celobrated Pharos of Alexandria, after having been several times partly demolished and rebuilt, was completely destroyed in the year 1317 ; its name survived, certainly, but ite ruins gradually disappeared, and for centuries its very site was forgotten, or unknown. Professor Thiersch considers, however, thatho has hit upon the exact spot, and fixes it in close proximity to the existing Fort Kaitbay, and he says he intends to explore, and examine what remains of its foundations, and he draws what ho believes to bo a faithful picture of tho ancient structure. According to this account, tho lighthouse stood on ths eastern point of the little island of Pharoß, and was completed in the year 283 B.C. at the' command of King Ptolomeus Philadelphus. It was built in three storeys: the first, square in shape, was sixty metres high, having an entranoe door on the south eide, and being pierced 1 with a number of loop-holes for lighting up the interior where the provisions were stored. This first storey was topped by n, platform, and then rose another storey, thirty metres high, whioh was also topped by a platform. Tho third storey was cylindrical in shape, and contained, in its head), the illuminating- apparatus. The whole struoture was capped by a bronze statue, probably -tha-fc of Poseidon. In the basement was a reservoir for' fresh water, and a kind of "lift" arrangement outsideserved for getting necessary provisions and materials on board. The total height of the Pharos is stated to have been about 120 metres, which would be a very respectable elevation even for a modern lighthouse. AN HISTORIC LETTER. An interesting letter which has just been made publio throws light upon the uncertainty with which steamship enterprise was regarded eighty years ago by one of the founders of the Cunard Line. Mt. Samuel Cunard, who lived at Halifax, Nova Scotia, was the owner of sailing vessels trading from Boston and Newfoundland to Bermuda. The letter in question is addressed by his firm to Messrs. Ross and Primrose, of Pictou, Nova Scotia, and is in the following terms : — "Dear Sirs. — We have received your letter of the 22nd inst. We are entirely unacquainted with the cost of a steamboat, and would not like to embark in a business of which we are quite ignorMust, therefore, decline taking auy part in one you propose getting up. — We remain, yours, etc., S. CunaTd and Co., Halifax, 28th Ootober, 1829." From this communication, which Mr. John M. Ross, of Pictou, states that he has in his possession, it is clear that Mr. Samuel Cunard was in the year 1829 still unconvinced aa to the utility of the steamboat for Atlantic travel. His conversion, however, could nob have been long delayed. Within a few years Mr. Cunard was so strongly of opinion that the days of sailing ships were numbered trial wnen the Admiralty advertised for tenders 'for the conveyance of the mails to America by steam he hastened over to England. There he met Mr. George Burns, afterwards Lord Inverclyde, and his partner, Mr. David Maclver, with tho result that tho foundations of the Cunard Company were laid by this trio of great men. The tiny Britannia began hor first yoyago in July, 1840. Tho letter of 1829 is, in the circumstances, of some historic importance. PROPELLER EXPERIMENTS. Reoent remarkable performances of the Lusitania and Mauretania have, as is generally known, followed upon alterations in these vessels' propellers. Probably, however, the publio is not aware to what a large extent these alterations have been influenced by experiments carried out by Messrs. Swan, Hunter, and Wigham Richardson and by the Wallsend Slipway and Engineering Company, with their specially construoied eleotric-ally-driven model launch. The autumn number of the Shipbuilder gives some account of these experiments, it is stated that • since these two liners commenced thoir Atlantic work over twenty-four different sets of three-bladed and seventeen sets of four-bladed propellers have been te&ted, in addition to further frequent experiments with models of the threebladed Bet originally supplied to the Maurotania. The question of increased efficiency v.aa studied, until, by moditymg the bosses and blades and adopting four blades instead of three, v saving of about 8 per cent, in the horso power could bo predicted at maximum speeds. Alter the completion of the further model experiments, the Maurotania was fitted with four-bladed propellers on the wing shafts, while three-bladed propellers have so far been retained on the inside shafts. The result, as ib known, has been a substantial raising oi her average speed, while the fitting of propellers of tho same design to the Lusitama has also had tho aamo eftect. The coal consumption has, it is stated, been about the same, or even less, but it is admitted that this result is probably due to a largo extent to improvements in stokehold organisation. It is prophesied that turohor speed records will ere long be made it four-bladed propellers, as fitted on the wing shafts ot the Mauretauia, and also htted on the inner shafts. _ Speaking at tho ceremony in connection with the launching of a 7000-ton turret-deok steamer from the yards of Win. lWord al ? d Sons » ot Wundevland, Hir Walter Kunoiman, ot Newcastle, said that from the point of view ol insurance, turret-deck vessels wero the finest ships any firm could have, while for seaworthiness they wero unequalled 1 , and lor carrying cargo they had the merit excelling every other typ& in certain trades. Sir W. T. Doxford said that he always had great faith in turret steamers. "I he vessel launched was tho eleventh the firm had built lor Sir Walter's Company, and it was particularly gratifying to Messrs. Doxford to find that owners, even in these bad times, should have such confidence in turrets as dividend-makers. "Revolutionary ideas in shipbuilding," says an English contemporary, "are being put to practical test by Wearside firms. One of the plans is to make steamers selfcuscharging, and another is to curve the hull, sO (j as to secure greater carrying capacity." This is, indeed, a revolution remarks Syren, but we cannot say that wo are at all surprised at it, "We have always looked with disfavour upon the old rectangular form of hull, not only on the ground or its violation of the true principles ot art, but also by reason of the amount of space wasted in tno corners when the vessel is carrying, say, a full cargo of beer barrels. 'Curve the hull,' has over boen our cry, and wo rejoice to hear that it has at last been heard. As for the self-discharging steamers, the news went the Tound of the press some five or six weeks ago, when the purhydrometer was described and put to practical tests." A few weeks ago the new Orient liner Otranto, whose magnificent decoration and proportions have already been noticed in these columns, created a new record, when she left Gravesend with a list of more than 1100 passengers in all elasßes for Melbourne and Sydney. Now that the Orient Company has abolished open steerage berth accommodation, every third-class passenger will enjoy tho privacy of an enclosed cabin. The Norwegian Government now provides'a circulatint? library for the use of seamen. Every departing vessel receives one or more cases containing about twenty volumes calculated to be of interest to Bailors, and these cases can be exchanged for others at various ports through the modium of tho Norwegian Consuls. / According to Fairplay, two Italian captains have by their joint efforts invented an apparatus making is possible to verify a vessel's position in a fog by means of the Hertzian waves.