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V '6 THE MARINE RECORD. i V rJ7 ' VARIOUS KINDS OP FOG SIGNALS. Connected with tlio Hght-hoiiBO Borvlod l» tho nyafetii of wiirnlnRii by "tog nlgnnls," I which coineB'liviise \\\ wlmt tlm sailors cull "thlok wonUicr" tluu Is, when mitt or fog jircvcnts tho lights noil Inmlmiirku from be- w J «n»K «ecn olthflr by night or by any. ' ■-, ■ Tho prlncjpul fog slgnnU, iibpiI In this * CQuntry Are tho siren, tho utenm trumpet, _ is^*'*' thefitOHm-whlsilc, the whistling buoy, the bell boat, the boll buoy, nnd heavy bells rung by e'oclcwork, Tho siren Is sounded 1)7 driving Btcnin through a tint, circular, iliac, containing a number of sllti>, the disc being fixed in tho throat of an Immense trumpet. Behind this Is n revolving plate, ! having In It n similar number of openings. Tho pliito Is rovolvej by stcum 2,400 timet each minutes. Whenever the kilts In the ' • plate coincide with those in ttie disc n|pt of ^ Hteiim eBciipes tl^angh eneh o|ieniug, under grout preKSurj, Into tho trumpet. If there are 10 openings there will be 24,000 screams each minute. Tlieso combined in the trum¬ pet give a single shriek liv.danloning volume and of great range. The sound can gunOially be heaid ut a distnuco of 20 miles, and van readily be distinguished tioiu nil noises at *seu. The siren is the furthest teaching log signal yot produced, but It is the most ex- ponslve to build, the most dllliciilt to nil', and Che most costly to keep going. One of these machines was on exhibition at tho Centennial Exposition in 1870, where, it uiado such a nuisance ol itsell that it' was restricted Iron) sounding except at tile open¬ ing and closing bourn, and then Ic was heard all over 1'hllndclphlij, ,Oue ot the Imgest size »lren»j8 touiiLLted with the lighthouse at-tiHtie-lleiiropen, irt the mouth ol Uelnuiire bay, opposite Capo May where In fog It gives a blast six stiouds long, alter an Inter¬ val ot JB seconds. These instruments "have done so'well on om uonata thut outlier countries have proiurcd numbers ol them. • v Grout Britain hiu> more than 2U ol tlicm I* in operation on her shores. The Unboll log iiumpet is made liken monstei clarionet, and Is sounded by air condei sqd in a reiervoir by machlneiy driven l)y a hot-air engint?. The largest trumpet is 17 teet lSTig, with a mouth 3S inches across and a throat 3'^ inches in (II- "anieter. Its reed ol steel is 10 Inches long, i% wide, an inch thick ait its tlxed «ud, and half Unit at the othei. Tho Ericsson eugJne that drives )t has ii32.ln.ch cylinder, width, at 20 pounds pressure, can give a live-second blast overy minute. Tho Dnboll trumpet is, however, going out of lavor because of Its liability to accident aud the difficulty of getting It lepirtTcd The nearest one to us is in Long> lalankl SounjL,—at Execution Rocks Station. / f .„ The most trequwUly/isod fog signal of this\general cluss 1b [Tie locomotive steam whistle, with a diameter varying from six to clgbjeon inches, operated by an ordinary boiler, under a pcessuio varying Irom 50 to 100 pounds- By Intervals of blast and silence it can bo differentiated Irom neighboring log signals and these Intervals automatically pro¬ duced by having tin engine take steam Irom the same boiler, aud opey and close Its valves atilxed times, when the Bteam Is cut.oil or let on as desired. These Instruments do not easily get out of order nnd they are readily operated. Tho whistles are used on light¬ ships as well as at lighthouses. There is a 12-inch whistle On each of the lightships on Five Fathom Bank, oil' the Capos of the Delaware. The power of these fog signals can be ex¬ pressed in" proportion thus Siren, 0; whistle, 7; trumpet, 4, and as to cost of running then) they stand as lollows. siren, 9; whlBtle, 3, and trumpet, 1. There are 60 fog Btgnalb now on our coasts operated by Btoiuit or hot air. The bell boat, which is nt best a clumB} .contrivance, liable to be upset when most needed, costly to build, hard to handle and difficult to keep in repair, has been super¬ ceded by Brown's bell buoy, which was in¬ vented by an officer of the lighthouse service. The bell Is mounted on the bottom section of an iron buoy, which Is decked over and fitted with a frame-work of i inch angle Iron, 0 foot high, to which a U00-ponuu bell is rigidly attached, A concenlilc grooved Iron plate is made Inst u> the Irumo under the bel| and close to It, and a cannon ball is allowed to roll on this plate. As the buoy rolls on tho sea the belt rolls on the plate, Striking one sldo of the ball at each roll. -• The signal 1b always at work, and the heavier the sea the louder-, tha sound ot tho boll. There are 24 of these bells now In use In this country, one of Which Is on Brown Shoal, Delaware Bay. They cost, with their mooring, not far from (1,000 each. ~) The "whistling buoy" consists of an iron pear-shaped ball, say 22 feet In diameter, with a tube 20 Inches acroBS nnd-40 feet long running through It. Tho.wator In the tube tcta at» piston to draw \njiis, air through a hole covered with a-roJjtfnin° valve, ami to expel It through aAGMuoh whittle, making a shrill moaning sound, which cun be beard aeveral miles. Its dimensions have recently been reduced, wlthoiK decreasing its power. Aa Its aollon depends on rough water, It Is only usod In open water. TI|oy now cost, with their moorings, about $1,200 each. There are 25 of them on our const', live of which are in our Immediate waters. The whistling buoy recently placed on the outer Uatteraa ihoal, Just oft the pitch of the cape, It of the greatest use to our coasters. The bell fog signal most In use is the bell * . / struck by machinery and moved by clock work. Thoro are1 about 120 of those bolls. They weigh Irom 800 to 3,ono pounds oaoh, though not many weigh more than 1,000.— Philadelphia •Ledger, WHY, THE .PILtiTS SHOULD UNITE. "Tho sclipmo proposed by nomd'of tho pilots, who have tiled nt Albftny a prelim¬ inary ci-rttflcatc o (Incorporation for the 'Snndy Hook Pilot Boat Company,' Is one which I do not full? understand," snld one of tho Sandy Hook pilots yesterday. /"Bore Is tho proBtoootus. I suppose It WasflVfTy In¬ tended lor pilots to'seu, but you 'may look' nt, It If you wish." The llrst pngo of Clio pamphlet calls atten¬ tion to tho "unremitting nntl persistent efforts of foroign steamship companies and oiherg to reduce our iutei>, to Impair and ultimately destroy our pilot service, prejudic¬ ing the public, Influencing commercial bodies, nnd cajoling merchants, captnlnB, and others of our friends to eutci the lists' with them against us, until it is painfully apparent that we, belrlg thdfwcaker,, must go to tho wall." Attontionja also called to the folly of hoping for a cessation of these attacks nnd It Is asserted that it would be better to bo pre¬ pared for the ne\t Legislature. It Is also declared that the interest of tho 133 New York and tho 37 Now .lorsoy—pllots are coequal, and to make the scheme a success all must Join the organisation. Tho total number ol touts now owned and employed by both bodies Is 23, and It Is propoidfl to reduce tho number to 12. Tho next four page's are filled witli state¬ ments ot the present revenue and cost of Die wi vice, compared with what would bo the flgnres with twelve boats, Including the deduction ot commission fees, collection lees dividends on boat property Insurance, etc. Of tho average of $700,000 collected annually for pilotage, deducting all expenses, tho net income of encli pilot under the present system U $2,401 70. With twelve bonts under the proposed system it l» estimated that the net individual Income would be all Increase of |538,24 annually. Tho cost of maintaining the service would also be reduced from >107,- 440 to 478,000. Tho capital proposed Is $250,- 000, divided into shares of $100) each. It is proposed to organize the company under the Limited Liability act, and a meeting w ill behold in a few days to organize by electing nine directors, a secretin y and treasurer, mid to take the necessary steps for a com¬ plete organization of tho company. STEAM VLSSELS. UNDER. CAXVA8. We recently fronted of "Modem Shipbuild¬ ing" and we took the liberty of pointing out that all the science and enginoerlag talent applied to eur steamships have thus far only succeeded In pioilucing a very Imporfcct machine for the objecisvcontomplated In hei construction, viz., to carry crew, passengers and cargo with speed and salty to their des- thmllon, and to accomplish her voyage un dor any circumitnnces, while the vessel her¬ self remains afloat and undamaged, whatever may happen to 1ier machinery. The great shipbuilding fraternity have no doubt got Into a groove of construction Irom which it will be very difficult to dis¬ lodge them. "All they have to do Is to pro¬ duce vessols of gloat speed and magnitude. People who have to go to sea know they must run some risks, aud tho ship that will carry them quickest to their destination, and Is, from her mighty proportions, more llkeh to run down an) thing she comes In contact with than to be herself seriously damaged by the collision— thnt Is tho ship lor them, Sail Is too slow to bo thought of, except ns n small aiixllliuy force, with n strongand fair wind." This, no doubt, Ib their utvle of argument; but let it bo lememborod that a sailing ship, properly.appointed. Is, after all, handler at sen than tho present style of steamship, and that some of our Clili.u tea clippers have ac¬ complished their voyages with a rapidity that would have been very creditable to a very powerful steamer, which would have had to curry some huudied tonsof bind coal, with so much loss of merchandise to enable her to do It us quickly. Vud It will proba¬ bly bo found by and by that wind power Iiiib boon prematurely and imprudently dis¬ pensed with in the appointments of the I ing¬ est and most povtcifu) steamships. Nor Is It unlikely that tho yachting community will f;ive a clue to the solution of the problem tow to bul'd a Bhip that shall bo a swllt steamer and a good sailor too; for what Is a a modern passenger ship but a steaniynoht "HjngnlnodV nnd In n week's regattas nt tho Isle of Wight the experimenting been successfully tried of racing steam yachts undor sail alono. A very Interesting match took place, and tho result 1b likely to show proportionate dlmoiiBions can be rcliod on without detriment to speed undei steam, to be manageable under tall in ease of accident to bollort or steam machinery. > The Bole cause of the unhandiness under sail of the present ttvle of stoum passenger ship Is bur great length In proportion to her breadth; eight, nine, aud even ten times their breadth being no unusual dimensions The Aurunla Is only eight limes as long as the Is broad, 485 feet long. 57 broad; but with such proportions It has boon found that no system of masting and rigging yet nt-. tempted has any controlling | ower at sea in bud weather to enable the crew to handle the ship successfully. The trial at the Isle ol Wight, on Monday Inst, was made In comparatively light winds, by three etonm ynehti,Chaui)lfl, Ziirlnn, and Palatine. Tho tohnngo nnd dlmonplons nro not grvon in the report, but tho Palatine scorns to have boon tho moat unhandy, ns she was about linlf nn hour In getting under_| way, -njrd nt. the end of the inntch was" no¬ where .Tho race* was for £150, over tho old "Queen's courso," from Cohcb to tho Nab light, back to Cowos, thon6o to Yar¬ mouth, Isle of Wight, und finishing nt Cowo, n courso, rqqulrlng to bo sailed by handy oilift, on account of tho many sharp turns to bp executed! and the vessols wens strictly limited to the uso of sails only, Just tho Biune as It they were ordinary sailing ynchts. Tho contest wnT betweon the Clmzallo and Ziirlnn, wlilch finished almost close to-, gether. the formor, though second vessel by something less limn a minute, gaining (ho priro on account ot time allowance. We aro all so much Interested In tho per¬ fection ol steajn navigation that no apology Is needed for our returning to the subject so soon, the Incident of the steam jach trace, under anil, having given occasion for it.J Wo hnvo before oxplnined Unit great speed, right ahead, is more easily obtained by In¬ creasing the size ol vessels In tho direction of length tlinn In nny other nay, but It Is done atg/riicrltice of other qualities that nro even jrioro necessary to bo maintained for tho a/fety of tho ship and all she carnlQS, a very swift steamci may be obtnlnod on clip¬ per-ship linos, and ,a noble sailing ship, it need bef produced at the same time, without much top hamper, in tho way ol standing rigging to afVct Jier speed materially, un¬ der stenm, Inn strong wind light" abend. Hut In that case dlspi opoi tlonnle length must bo abandoned.—Bulish Timbu 'linden Journal. THE YANKEE BLADE. When tho crow arrived at Potoskey, Cap¬ tain "O'Donnell went before a notary and niiufe the following statement, as required by law. Statu oj Michigan, Cons'i y of Emmftt, ss.; John O'Donnell, master of the schooner Yankee Blade, being dulyswoin, deposes und, on his oath, says Thnt he left Point St. Ign ice on the afternoon of August Jl, 1883, nt 4 o'clocKMVlth the said schoonci Yankee BIndo wltrr-n-cnrgo of 507 tons of Iron ore consigned to the Elk Rapids Iron Company, of Elk Rapids, Mich.; thnt tho vcbsoI was perfectly seaworthy und equipped for the v6v age to Elk Rapids, and the weath er being favorable starred at the abovo time and sighted Wniigoshance light at 0-80 p. m. The wind was light from the east, nnd| at 12 o'clock midnight rounded the light, und the wind hauling more to the south, at 4 o'clock n. m. passed Sklllagaloe light. The vessel was making wnter bo as to keep tiro after-pump going freely. At 7 o'clock a. m. were on our starboard took with the wind about south, stnndlng in for the main land beading southeast by east, about eight miles duo east south of Skillngnleo when I notldod thnt the vessel wns settling down in tho wn¬ ter, and immediately had tho pumps sound¬ ed nnd found thnt she had nine inches of water in hei. Thnt did not sntlslv me, so when the mate camo on deck, which wns Immediately nfter the pumps had been sound- od, I told him (the mate) to go down for¬ ward nnd look in tho fore peak and see If there wns anything wrong. lie immediately came running back and said the water was nearly up to the forecastle floor. I then ran forward to see for-mysolland found tho wa¬ ter us high as the mnto had reported. In the meantime both pumps were going, but the water gained so fiiBt on them that I or¬ dered tho men to stop pumping and get their things and put thorn in the boat. In the nienntlme I ordered the helm down, bo she would como head to the wind, to lower the boat„aud nil hands In her. I wont foi- ward nnd found the water, about two feet over the forecastle floor. I then jumped in¬ to the bout and was only there about three minutes when the vessel went down, the erew being there about ten minutes before me, Shu wont down head foremost in fif¬ teen Inthoms of wnlor. She .blew out the umtn rigging aft, and when she disappeared both masts came to the surfnee, also the decks and parts of her side We remained nt tho wreck about ton minutes and then pulled for Cross Village, Wlilch no reaolfcd nfter two hours, nnd got passage ou the steamer City of Grand ltuplds, arriving here at Petoskey, Mich., at 1 p. in., this llrst day of September, 1883. John O'Donneli , Master. Subscribed and sworn to before me this 1st day of Soptembor, A. D. 1883. E/iu C. Bahnum, Notary Publlo In ami for Emmoti County, Michigan. The crewnll heard and rend tile statement of tho Captain and took oath before the no¬ tary thnt the strme wot correct. Their nainet are: Daniel Mitchell, mate. Christopher Tnllon, steward. Edward Lee, Henry Swnnson, William Heath, Thomas E. Nowluud, Boamcii. The Yankoe Blado was a very successful vessel, and In her time linn earned several comlnrtable fortunes. She llrst came out In 1855. She hud boon rebuilt sevoial times, nnd at the time of her lore she rated Bl. Captain Comerford, now in the F, L. Dan- forih, used to make race-horse time with the Yankee Blade, notwithstanding she was n cannier. - ?} NEW 11ULES FOIl INVESTIGATING , ■ STEAMBOAT DISASTERS. TnfABuny DppahtmWT, " Office or tub Secretary, WAtfrVciTflN, DfC, Sept. 3,1883. [ To United Stales Supervlulntj Inspectors of Staun Ve»el>: u "GmtTLRMim—In vlow of woll grounded complaints of the Impropriety of local In¬ spectors investigating disinters to hulls and boilers of steam vessols after certification by themselves that such hulls or .boilers aro safe,__ you are hereby dlrocted whenever accidents occur to stenm vcsscIb through alleged de¬ lects to either hull or boiler, to conduct such Investigation personally under the authority coulorred by section 4,400 of the Revised Statutes of tho United States, us follows: "EnclljBnpervlsIng Inspector shall have full power ***** |n any dlBtrlct where from distance or otAei cause It is Inconvenient to resort to the-locul bomd, to Inspect nny ' stenm vessol nnd tho boilers of such steamer, und to grant cortlllcutCH of nppiovul, and to perform all tho duties Imposed upon local boa)ds. "Section 4,100 Revised Statutes requires that If the supervising Inspector Iiiib good reason to believe that through negligence or othei cause, a failure of the board which in¬ spected the vessel, to do its cutv.he shall re- RARE INDUCEMENT. 'A petty Wisconsin ichoolmnrm, to en¬ courage promptness, promised to kiss the llrst scholar at school, and nil the large boys took to roosting on tho fence at night. A greater Inducement Is held out by Di. Swayno, in otlorlng-hlsointment (for Itching piles and all eruptions of tho skin,) to the world at large. It Is saldthat a stitch In time saves nluety-iiino, ilTTil a box of Swuyne's ointment kept In the house read) for-UBe, may save you yeuis of misery. Put not oft until the morrow that which should be done to-day. Delays are dangerous. port the tacts in wilting to the Secretary of theTjeiiBurj. * * * '•The question of supervising inspector as¬ suming original Jurisdiction in investigating the conduct of licensed officers of stcum ves¬ sels nnd revoking nnd suspending licenses ol, such ofllceis, independent of tho provision of sections 4,450, 4,452, Revised Statutes, were submitted to the Solicitor of the Treas¬ ury by the Supervising Inspector-General of Steam Vessels, August 8,1881, nnd on Aug- UBt 27th following, the bollclloi rendered nil opinion In writing (cojij inclosed) affirming tlie proposition. "You will bo governed by the terms of this circular letter In the case of accidents to steamers such as reforred to herein, in all cases where such nccidents are to bo Investi¬ gated within the juilsdlctinn of the local board of fnspectois who Inspected und cei- tilied the steamer. Voiy lespccttulij, "Jno, C. Nkw, Acting ^eerotnry." STEAM AND SAIL. The Cincinnati Commercial Gazette, in an article on Lake navigation, lias the following about towing consorts: VesseUt of lieavj burden, called barges, are lightly sparred for the use of Bal]s us auxiliary or in case of emergonoy, for which also they have ground tackle. A screw steamer, herself currying perhaps 75,000 bushels, takes' three or foui of these barges ,or of lull-sail schooners In tow, making the time of the trip corttdn, and getting much help from their sails. Tho steumoi and nor tow may carry in the aggiegnto from 1504)00 to 200,000 bush- elsjiud upwind. The lumber, coal and oie carfyiiig5»how the «uuie auxiliary comblna-, tion. At Detroit und in the St. jClalr rivet some conception of the magnitude of this shipping may be. got In the sight of these Iowa. Here pusses In flight a shiftflng which - 1b probably grcatei than the ontiro sen-going nnd sea-coualing shipping of the United States. It seems to have reduced the econo¬ mies to a baie point, and this Is shown by tho freight rates. The ornamental features and top-hammer of the old-fashioned Bteam boat have disappeared from these propelleis. Their holds are full of grain and their decks of coal, and thdy have no great upper cabin to catch tho wind. Their tows have the like appearance of business' without orna¬ ment. THE PORTCH-LELAND. COLLISION. Maroh 20,1882, tho schooner E. M. Portch was fn down by the propeller Leland be¬ tween Mii.nitowoc and Sheboygan and sunk. The collision occurred at 8 o'clock In the evening during the prevalence of a heavy fog. Tho schooner was owned by Jacob Johnson, of this port who sent two dlllerent wrecking expeditions to try nnd i also the wieck. Afler many haul days' work, at an oxpeiiBo of $5,200, the schooner was towed as far as the piers ot Sheboygan, where she soon went to pieces and became a totiil loss. Mr. Johnson then commenced suit against tho Elk Rapids^ Iron Company, owners of tiie Leland, to recover damages. Com¬ missioner Proudfoot rendered Judgment against the defendants lor $18,250, damages and Interest, besides the costs. It was decid¬ ed that tho propeller was not only short handed and running at a great rate of speed, but that her whistle was dofoctivo and locat¬ ed behind the funnel, contrary to law.—Chi¬ cago Tittwiie.