26 Naval Architecture and 



present period, the English ship-builders are not even fur- 

 nished with proper rules for the mensuration of the bottonis 

 of ships. Their practice, when they wish to measure the 

 solid contents of the submera;ed part of a ship, is to divide 

 the bottom, by model or draugiit, into sections of a foot 

 apart; they then divide these sections into square feet, by 

 ruling lines at a foot apart, and cou?it the number of square 

 feet, adding something for the gore pieces, or angular parts 

 at the edge of the sections ; afterwards, they add all the 

 square feet together, and allow a little more for the corner 

 pieces, for the whole number of cubic feet in the bottom ! ! ! 

 We need not say, that the mathematician is in possession of 

 short and correct rules, as a substitute for this inaccurate, 

 although monstrously laborious method: these rules, by 

 means of this publication, have been made available to all 

 concerned in such computations. 



The first number contains introductory remarks, diagrams 

 and explanations of Captain Philips's capstan, in which the 

 principle of the contrivance, understood by few, is lucidly 

 shown ; — a theoretical view of the influence of length on a 

 ship, being an analysis of Du Hamel's remarks on the sub- 

 ject ;- — the values of ships of all rates, as estimated by the 

 French, in the '' Archives Navales ;" — account of the dura- 

 bility of French ships, from the same work ; — notice of the 

 performance of the Enterprise, steam-vessel, in her voyage 

 to the East Indies ; — and finally, a very luminous historical 

 view of the origin, rise, and progress of steam-navigation. 

 The variety of subjects thus embraced, it is evident must 

 give a peculiar interest to the publication. In the same 

 manner the contents of the other numbers might be sepa- 

 rately cited, of which there are fifteen, to show that the 

 work offers attractions not exclusively to the theorist, nor 

 to the ship-builder, but to all concerned in the naval arts. 

 We especially notice Rotclfs lever-fid, Sir Robert Sep- 

 pings's diagonal system of ship-building, and other late 

 introductions, given, as projected by the inventors, with 

 further explanations. 



There is also a peculiar benefit attached to the plan of 

 this work, which is, that scarce documents, naval tracts out 

 of print, are reproduced at a cheap rate. Of these, are to be 

 found the Outlines of Naval Philosophy of Sir Wilham 

 Petty, with an interesting account of his life ; and Sir Walter 

 Raleigh's valuable notes on the British navy, &c. Amongst 

 the original articles, is a good account of the origin and 

 advancement pf naval ordnance, and new and concise de- 



