MECHANICS AND USEFUL ARTS. 79 



The saloon would be entirely separated from the rest of the ves- 

 sel by water-tight bulkheads, thus cutting off all unpleasant 

 smells from the engines and boilers. The suspension is so ar- 

 ranged that the vibration of the engines and propeller cannot be 

 transmitted to the saloon, which is also relieved from the con- 

 stant thud of the waves striking against the sides of the vessel, 

 because there is no contact between the ship's sides and the walls 

 of the saloon. Suitable ante-rooms leading from the saloon are 

 also provided for invalids, etc. The general plan also embraces 

 the construction of raised deck platforms, so arranged that those 

 who prefer the open air may have beneath them a steady platform 

 free from the rolling and pitching motion of the vessel. From 

 the cursory view here given of the mode in which I propose to 

 secure at all times a perfectly steady platform on board ship, the 

 scientific reader will, doubtless, see many grave difficulties. He 

 will probably ask, How do you propose that passengers shall pass 

 from the reeling deck backward and forward at all times into 

 your quiet, immovable saloon? How can you prevent a pendu- 

 lous motion of the saloon from being set up by the variation in 

 position of the centre, which will occur unless your vessel rolls 

 and pitches at all times actually on a point coincident with the 

 point where you have established your centre of suspension? 

 How can you prevent the saloon from being put in motion by 

 people moving in it from side to side ? My reply to these antici- 

 pated inquiries is simply that each of them, and many others be- 

 side, have been presented to my mind in full force during the 

 elaboration of my plans, and each has been so fully met and pro- 

 vided for as to offer not the slightest obstacle to that success 

 which I believe my little ship, the ' Enterprise,' will fully estab- 

 lish when put to sea, until which time I must beg the critic to 

 suspend his judgment." Van Nost. Eng. Mag. 



ACTION OP SEA-WATER ON THE METALLIC FASTENINGS OF 



SHIPS. 



We extract from the proceedings of the Institution of Naval 

 Architects, London, the following short but comprehensive paper 

 read by William Poole King at a recent meeting. Of course the 

 facts stated apply equally to all similar fastenings employed in 

 stationary floating structures and docks: 



" The small fastenings of ships are trenails, iron bolts, and cop- 

 per metal bolts. Each have their advantages and defects. 



"The trenail, generally an oak bar of 1^ inch to 1 inch in 

 diameter, is a cheap fastening. It carries no galvanic influence 

 from the outside copper on the bottom of a ship to create rust in 

 the iron work within, and is vulgarly considered the very stamina 

 and constitution of a ship ; still it must strike every one not 

 blinded by routine that nothing can be more absurd than to pre- 

 pare oak timbers square, and cut out all the sap from them, at the 

 cost of about a crown per foot cubic, and then drill this expensive 

 timber full of holes from 1| inch to 1| inch wide, in order to 



