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POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



vened between the dates of laying the keel and launching the battleship 

 'Canopas', a vessel of 12,590 tons displacement, and even then the work 

 was delayed by a strike. The cruiser 'Diadem', a sheathed vessel of 

 11,000 tons displacement and 16,500 horse-power, was built by the 

 Fairfield Shipbuilding and Engineering Company, Limited, of Govan, 

 Scotland, in 214 working days, and moreover, the vessel was fitted, be- 

 fore launching, with all her armor casements. 



The battleship 'Majestic' of the British navy was launched complete 

 and ready to go into commission, and this vessel went into the water 

 just twenty-two months from the date of the laying of the keel. An 

 even two years was required for the completion of the 'Magnificent,' 



Fig. 2. The Battleship 'Hatsuse' after abovt four and a half months, showing 



the Protective Deck. 



another battleship of the same class. A record almost equal to that of 

 the 'Bulwark' was that of the battleship 'Prince George', the displace- 

 ment of which is 14,900 tons. This vessel was built and launched in 

 eleven months. For purposes of comparison, the fact may be cited 

 that Laird Brothers, of Birkenhead, built the torpedo-boat destroyer 

 'Sparrow Il.iwk', a vessel which attained a speed in the neighborhood of 

 thirty knots on trial, in the space of one hundred days. 



Taking into consideration, however, all influencing conditions, the 

 records made since the beginning of 1899 indicate a distinct advance 

 on the part of the builders. The Thames Iron Works, Shipbuilding and 

 Engineering Company, of Blackwall, made an excellent showing with 



