168 Analysis of Scientific Books and Memoirs. 



is a vessel of quite a iliffercnt clr.ss from a first-rate of the present dny. Of 

 such magnificent ships as the Britannia, the Prince Regent, or the St 

 George, our forefathers could have had no conception. They are not only 

 magnificent, as exhibiting the mightiest combination of timbers ever con- 

 structed by man, but in future wars will devtlope energies more terrific 

 than any exhibited at St Vincent or Trafalgar. The Regent of 1000 tons 

 constructed in the reign of Henry the Seventh, can bear no possible com- 

 parison to the Regent of 2600 tons, constructed in the reign of George the 

 Fourth. Spain was the first nation that increased considerably the dimen- 

 sions of her different classes of ships, and France followed her example 

 with better success. In later thnes the Americans have made some great 

 steps in this important inquiry ; and we rejoice to find that our own ex- 

 cellent naval administration have not lost sight of the subject. There are 

 many advantages resulting from the enlargement of the dimensions of ships. 

 It enables them to possess great stability, and thereby to carry a great 

 press of sail, with a comparatively small body immersed in the water ; 

 thus giving them a great moving power in proportion to the resistance 

 they experience, and thereby increasing their rate of sailing. Large di- 

 mensions also in proportion to the number of guns gives fine quarters to 

 the men in action. It enables a finer form to be given to ships below the 

 water, so that they may have a good entrance forward, and a clean run aft 

 to the rudder, and to have the form best calculated to present great lateral 

 resistance to the water, which prevents the ship from making much lee- 

 way. 



The only objection to this increase of dimension is the expence ; and 

 possibly there are some limits beyond which it cannot be carried. We are 

 persuaded, however, that this limit has not yet been attained, and we ear- 

 nestly press its consideration on our naval engineers. 



We were glad to perceive that the author of the paper had included in 

 his inquiry the masterly tables of Chapman, particularly those derived 

 from the celebrated work of that author on Ships of the Line. Chapman 

 appears to have combined many rare and important qualities. Without 

 possessing the profound mathematical knowledge that distinguishes some 

 of the continental writers on ship-building, he was enabled to communi- 

 cate to his scientific investigations a double value, from the practical aspect 

 he gave to them. The method he pursued was clearly that taught by our 

 immortal Bacon ; and the success that attended his labours is manifest in 

 his writings. The writer of the article has many judicious and very im- 

 portant observations on the analytical methods adopted by Chapman, — 

 on the numerical coefficients he employs to connect the various elements 

 of his inquiry together, — the length with the breadth and the displace- 

 ment, — the ingenious formulae he employs for deducing the exponent of 

 flotation, — the exponent of the main sectional area, — the moment of sta- 

 bility, — connecting, in a word, the remotest element of a ship, with some 

 primitive and fundamental element o.i which the whole inquiry depends. 

 There is something exceedingly ingenious in Chapman's attempt to deduce 

 all the elements of a ship fVom the weight of the guns, and the distance 



