CASTING OIL ON TROUBLED WATERS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XIX, Issue 6424, 20 June 1882, Page 3

CASTING OIL ON TROUBLED WATERS.

SO THE EDITOR. ' Sir,— The accompanying, extract appears in Chambers' Journal of last month. Weald it not' be worth while trying a similar experiment with some of our bar harbours on the West Coast in very rough weather ? Many places now difficult to enter in stormy seasons might, by the nse of a small quantity of oil, be rendered approachable at all times.—lam, &c , Pbogbess. ' The following is the extractSeTeral interesting experiments were recently made at Peterhead, by the laying of pipes charged with! oil, across the bar of the north harbour. The oil, which exudes from.the ' pipes by force-pumps, rises to the surface,-and .forms a . 3Ul o6th expanse of considerable extent.' Tiioinvention is due to the sagacity of Mr. Shields, of Perth, " who made the experiments at his own cost, and'has now presented, as a free gift, the completed apparatus to the town of Peterhead., This apparatus consists of some hundreds of feet of piping, having three cpnicaT valves 75 feet Apart from each other,prevent the oil from escaping, except when the force pump is - in operation. Days most suitable for testing " the efficacy of the oil in stilling the troubled waters were selected—the sea coming in, and breaking right across the bar. The pipes were charged with oil at high water, and shortly afterwards the oil rose to the surface, covering. the. sea for a considerable distance, and converting what was previously broken water into a glassy undulating sheet. -The experiments were a complete success, and Mr. Shield's invention is one which deserves to be taken Into careful consideration by those connected with harbours."