He had been asked to indicate the direction he expected future improvements to take. At the head he put the endeavour, which he saw no reason to suppose would be unsuccessful, to obtain more effect from the boiler. A single ton of locomotive boiler produced as much steam as 6 tons of ordinary steamboat boiler, and some simple cheap mode of producing a keen draught without a steamblast (which was simply throwing away fresh water) was a desideratum. This more rapid combustion, if attainable, was evidently synonymous with a lighter boiler, carrying with it many savings. Next, the principle of hot blast, he thought, would come to the front, as a matter for probably successful experiment. Few persons appreciated the volume and heat of the current which went up the funnel, which, he suspected, though containing some carbonic acid gas, was mainly little else than hot air and unconsumed fuel; often this loss was accepted and increased as a simple mode of producing draught. Suppose this current were driven through a second fire, would not the hot blast effect be produced and the fuel burnt up?

The use of steel presented great attractions, the possibility of saving was so immense, but the question of reliability stood at present practically unsolved, he used the word "practically," because steel makers said it was solved; but they would hardly claim for the solution that it was not rather too delicate and scientific to meet general acceptance. Besides, he feared an objection would be taken to very light scantlings on account simply of their lightness. In hulls, more especially in skin plates -an amount of “obduracy" to be gained only by weight was required.

One of the greatest improvements in steamers would be the production of unbreakable shaft forgings; outsiders had hardly any idea of the cost, delay, and frequency of broken shafts. One recommendation he would give would be when a shaft broke to be sure that the bearings were in line, he feared untruth in them often broke shafts.

What future extension would the steam trade take? A slightly further invasion of the business of sailing ships might be looked for, but the principal extension would probably be in new directions. Generally speaking an increase in our enjoyment of the more perishable products of distant parts of the earth might be looked for. He took it that live cattle would be brought to this country in numbers hitherto unthought of. There was no mechanical difficulty in the way; the fear of government interference alone, he believed, stopped them being brought over from Texas

or the River Plate; there was no doubt some £5 from the former, and £6 from the latter would carry them if capitalists dared embark in the undertaking on a sufficient scale to make it successful. Oranges were a small matter, but this country was now beginning to have two annual crops instead of one as formerly, the second coming from south of the equator. A large extension in this class of trade might be looked for.

What it had not so far accomplished satisfactorily, numerous as had been the attempts, was the Channel service, and this was the more astonishing that the problem looked so easy. Whether the new "Castalia," a very fine and interesting vessel, will possess the four requisites-speed, steadiness, lightness of draft, and handiness -next year would solve.

He could not see that the future promised a better money result to the shipowner than the past. His would doubtless. continue to be a business yielding different results to differing managements; but that the past average result, which he took it had been from 3 to 5 per cent., would be much exceeded in the future, was what he would wish and hope, but could not expect.

Mr. STEPHENSON, President, said, with reference to the indicator, statements had been made as to what it could not show, and it was only fair to the inventor to state what it could show. He for one believed thoroughly in the indicator up to a certain point. It gave the pressure of steam upon the piston throughout the stroke, and it was never intended to show what was going on inside the boiler or in the screw shaft. It told everything from the boiler to the condenser. It showed if there was a stricture in the pipe leading from the boiler to the cylinder, if the throttlevalve was too small, if the steam was wire-drawn, if the piston was leaking, if the cylinder was honeycombed or flat-sided, if the valves had too much lap or lead, and it told the state of the condenser. He thought, therefore, that the little instrument gave a very good account of the work done in the cylinder by the fuel consumed; and if it accomplished so much, it ought not to have been passed over by a reference to what it could not do, and to what it was never intended to do. With regard to the surface condenser, he had always felt great pleasure in giving credit to those who really deserved it; and while he gave all praise to Messrs. Randolph and Elder who had brought to bear on the subject an immense amount of talent and ingenuity, it ought not to be forgotten that had it not been for the surface condenser such high-pressure steam would not now be used as was commonly employed. He therefore

thought that the name of Mr. Samuel Hall might have been brought more prominently before the Institution in connection with that subject. Mr. Hall had worked engines at 115 lbs. pressure, the consumption of coal being 1.50 lb. per indicated HP. per hour. He had documents in his possession from a person who had seen the vessel running between Glasgow and Liverpool, which it continued to do for several months. A difficulty arose with the vessel, as difficulties had arisen with other ships treated in a similar way. A steam pressure of 115 lbs. had never been worked for any length of time successfully with marine engines. Where vessels had been built with steam pressed as high as that point, they had after a short period of work been compelled to fall back to a pressure of 75 or 80 lbs. Some doubt had been expressed with regard to the single engine. He had made many of those engines, not only for Mr. Alfred Holt but for Messrs. Holt of Liverpool, and others, and he could say that with a fly-wheel attached to the engine, on going into the engine-room of the ship one could see no difference between their working and the working of a double cylinder engine. Reference had been made to steam jacketing, but no allusion had been made to a much more important matter that of reducing the steam to a low temperature. He believed that there was an immense loss by expanding steam at too low a temperature. The internal radiation or conduction with a low temperature involved an enormous loss, and it was better to work at a little higher temperature at the lower end of the stroke.

Mr. JAMES BAILEY, C.B., observed, through the Secretary, that the Author had suggested the use of higher pressures of steam as the means to obtain more economical results. From a return

made to an order of the House of Lords in 1874, it appeared that the frequent renewal of marine boilers was an important item of expenditure, as well as a cause of great weakness in the practical strength of the British Navy. Amongst a long list of ships mentioned the "Pallas," first completed for sea in 1866, received new boilers in 1871, and the "Research," completed for sea in 1864, received new boilers in 1869; it would thus appear that the life of a marine boiler in the Navy was less than five years. The time occupied, and the expense attending the renewal of boilers, including the removal of old boilers and refitment of the ships to a working state, had not been given, but it must be a very heavy tax on the nation, independent of the ships being non-effective for considerable periods, and the strength of the Navy so much reduced.

During the present financial year, the building of new ships had been deferred to render the funds destined for ship-building available to re-boiler the iron-clads. What he wished to point out was, that with the improved system of steam engineering such as Mr. Perkins had initiated and matured these frequent renewals of boilers were unnecessary, and that the efficiency of the fleet, and its aggressive power, might be much augmented at a less cost than at present. This was accomplished by the use of engines working steam at a higher pressure, by boilers absolutely safe from explosion, and the two combined, by working the high-pressure steam more expansively, performed work on a much smaller consumption of fuel than at present. This system of engines and boilers possessed the following advantages, which increased both the efficiency and economy:-(1) The extremely small consumption of fuel, say 1 lb. of coal per HP. per hour. (2) The almost absolute safety of the boilers from explosion, brought about by the construction of tubes and the distribution of metal to secure strength in the position and form for performing the functions required in a boiler for containing high-pressure steam safely. (3) The duration of the boilers equal to that of the engines and ship they were applied to. (4) The disuse of all oil and grease for lubricating the interior wearing surfaces. (5) The reduction in the weight of the engines and boilers combined, as compared with those in use. In reviewing these features their great economy and industrial bearings would be apparent. (1) The consumption of fuel in steam vessels might be practically regarded as the index of their commercial value, and in ships of war as that of their aggressive power. In vessels of commerce, each ton of coal burnt should be valued as the cost of the same ton plus the loss of so much paying cargo as the ton occupies; whilst in vessels of war, to the cost of the coal may be added the gradual disablement of the vessel as the supply of fuel is exhausted. The reduction of the consumption of fuel in steamers by one-half, still maintaining the same actual HP., meant also that they could do a double journey, or keep the sea twice as long; this latter advantage was of vital importance to ships of war, and was of no slight importance to the mercantile fleet now trading to India, and other distant places. The best-constructed compound engines used, say, 2 lbs. of coal per HP., whilst Mr. Perkins's system used only 1 lb. It might be observed that the reduction in the consumption of fuel brought a corresponding reduction in the staff of stokers and coal-trimmers, and by means of the boilers being encased with a non-conducting [1877-78. N.S.]

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material, the engine room and stoke-hole were maintained at a lower temperature-a matter of practical importance in the Red Sea and other tropical latitudes. (2) He had been fortunate enough to see a Perkins boiler burst from being allowed to get short of water, whilst the high-pressure steam (500 lbs. per square inch) was on, with no worse result than the escape of the steam up the funnel. For vessels of war, liable to receive a shot in their boilers during an engagement, this quality was very valuable; and in case of damage, as the parts were interchangeable, repairs might be effected afloat, or at the nearest port or naval reserve of stores. (3) The boilers were charged with rain or drinking water, and this, after being converted and used as steam, was recondensed and reused. If all the joints and valves were theoretically perfect, the same water would last for ever, as it was only the loss caused by these imperfections which had to be made up. In practical work, the quantity required had been found so small as to be easily provided for. This water being comparatively free from solid matter, and small in quantity, created no deposit or crust inside the boilers, they never became burnt, and the wear was so slow and gradual, that one, when taken to pieces, after twelve or thirteen years' constant work, by the Admiralty Boiler Committee, showed no appreciable sign of decay. By this system, the boilers could be made equally lasting with the engines and ship. This feature alone deserved attention, especially in the working of sea-going vessels, the boilers of which were so frequently renewed at great cost, entailing lengthy demurrage in the case of the merchant navy, and for the time rendering ships non-effective, and occasioning loss of strength to the nation in the cases of ships of war. (4) One of the requirements to overcome the friction in the cylinders, when dealing with high-pressure steam, was attained by the discovery of the Perkins patent piston metal. At even moderately high pressures it was found that the cylinders were cut, and that the wearing surfaces of the valves and slide faces were kept true with difficulty. These drawbacks had been thoroughly mastered by the new metal, bringing with it the further benefit of requiring no artificial lubricant. The cost of the oil and grease was thus saved, and the frequent inconveniences caused by their residues in cylinders, pumps, and condensers were thus avoided. It might be justly stated that, by the use of this metal, one of the most material hindrances in the way of the successful application of steam at higher pressures than heretofore, had been overcome. (5) The cost of making engines on Mr. Perkins's system did not, he believed, exceed that of any other well-manufactured engine,