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officer of Tuticorin as to the cost of fitting her with 

 kerosine engines, but the need for her was not then clear 

 and the matter dropjoed ; 1 now hear to my great regret 

 that she has been sold out of the service. Eventually 

 therefore I hope that Government will provide a some- 

 what bigger boat than the " Irene" fitted with auxiliary 

 power (probably kerosine engines) and with all the 

 necessary appliances for experimental fishing and the 

 preserving of fish, such as trawls and other nets, 

 dredges, fish hold, ice room, net and warp rooms and the 

 usual mechanical aids to hauling heavy nets and lines, 

 together with accommodation for the experimenter or 

 observer. As she will be a good power boat she could, 

 if not required after serving her early ]3urposes, be sold 

 at a good price. A boat for our purposes does not 

 require to be very large or of great strength ; ours are 

 fair weather seas and all operations would be in fair 

 weather ; we are not liable to sudden storms and our 

 ranee of work would never be more than a few miles 

 from shore ; hence steamers such as are required in 

 Great Britain where voyages, e.g. by the "Huxley" 

 research boat, are undertaken as far as Iceland and even 

 the White Sea, and where the most violent weather may 

 be experienced at any time, are not needed ; on the other 

 hand, tropical conditions require certain protection and 

 comfort, and if trawling and other netting experiments 

 are to be carried out the boat must be staunch and 

 strong ; for use as an experimental carrier she must have 

 a speed, of, say, 7 or 8 knots. I enquired of many firms 

 in Great Britain on my recent visit and also consulted 

 the Irish and Scottish official authorities, and if Govern- 

 ment choose to incur the expense, a very useful full 

 riooed boat with a " Dan " or other kerosine enorine as 

 auxiliary, and suitable for all fishery work, could be 

 obtained fully fitted for about ^2,000. For reference 

 and as an illustration only of general type, I enclose 

 drawings and a description of such a boat (" Ibis III ") 

 and copy of a letter from Messrs. Linton Hope & Co., 

 the well-known naval architects and marine engineers ; 

 first class trawler and fishing boat builders in Grimsby, 

 North Shields, Glasgow, etc., has also given rough 

 estimates and will be prepared to quote on demand. 



