Trans-Atlantic Steamers.

Thames Star, Volume XIX, Issue 5824, 29 September 1887, Page 3

Trans-Atlantic Steamers.

There are many people who go down to the sea in ships who never koow how much that is of interest surrounds them. In fact, not' a small percentage of ocean ' travellers are too much disturbed about their interior affairs, to take much notice of what goes on about them. The following facts and figures regarding any one of the large ocean steamers that run between Liverpool and New York, may be interesting to any one of your readers. Leaving out of consideration the pas* gengers, there are in all about 287 persons comprising the crew, including 112 fire* men. For a single passage to New York, one of the most noted steamships, with 547 cabin passengers, and a crew of 287 persons, had, when leaving Liverpool on the 28th of Angnstlast.tbefollowißg quantities of provisions :—12,5501 bs fresh beef, 7901bs corned beef, 5,3201bs mutton. 850 lbs lamb, 8501bs veal, 85Olbs pork, 2,000 lbs fresh fish, 600 fowls, 300 chickens, ]00 ducks, 50 geese, 80 turkeys, 200 brace grouse, 15 tons potatoes, 30 hampers vegetables, 220 quartzs icecream, 1000 quarts milk, and 11,600 eggs. In groceries alone there were over 200 diff* erent articles, including (for the round Toyage of twenty-one days) 6501bs tea, 12001bs coffee, IGOOlbs white sugar, 2800 lbs moist sugar, 7501bs pulverized sugar, 15001bs cheese, 2000lbs butter, 35001bs ham, and lOOOlbs bacon. In spite, however, of this seemingly overwhelming equipment, but very little was left of the provisions above enumerated when the steamer arrived in port. The quantities of wine, spirits, beer, &c, put on board for consumption on the round voyage comprise 1000 bottles of champagne, 850 bottles of claret, 6000 bottles of ale, 2500 bottles of porter, 4500 bottles of mineral waters, 650 bottles of various spirits. The amount of crockery destroyed on a voyage is enormous. The, average breakage is about 900 plates, 280 cups, 438 saucers, 1,213 tumblers, 200 wine-glasses, 27 decanters and 63 water bottles. When people complain that it costs a great deal of money to cross the ocean let them study the above statistics in regard to breakage, and they will see the voyage of a steamer is a costly matter for a company. But to return to the subject 'of food (consumption. One of the lar*:e steamship companies uses in its various departments annually 1| tons of mustard, If tons of pepper, 7910 bottles of pickles, 8000 tins of sardines, 30 tons of salt cod and ling, 43.92 four-pound jars of jam, 15 tons of marmalade (for the Englishmen), 22 tons raisins, currants, and fig 3, 18 tons split peans, 15 tons pearl barley, 17 tons rice, 34 tons oatmeal, 460 tons flow, 23 tons biscuit, 33 tons salt, 48,902 loaves of bread (81bs each), 53 tons hams, 20 tons bacon, 15 tons of cheese, 930 tons potatoes, 24,075 fowls, 4230 ducks, 2200 turkeys, 2200 geese, 31,212 tablets Pears's soap,. 34841bs Windsor soap, 10 tons yellow soap. .The heaviest item in the lines annual expense account is for coal; 356,764 *ons is the yearly requirement, or almost 1003 tons for* every day in the year. The oonsumußcn of engine oil is 104,048 gallons.; of burniDß oils, 23,020 gallons ; of paint oil, 9290*allons ; of waste, 90 tons ; of lead, 51 tons; of red lead, 12 tons.