48 REPORT OF THE COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND Fli^TIERIES. 



At station 200, in 208 fathoms, tlic island of Oaliu being tlien in 

 si.ylit, the s])('cinien en]) br()nj»ht np abont a pint of ch'ini (braniinifera, 

 no innd or sand being ]»resent. Tlic sliclls were globigeriiia and orbn- 

 lina. From this station to the harborofHonoluhi the specimens exam- 

 ined consisted of lino sand, brolcen sliells, small pieees of coral, and 

 sponge spicnles. 



Eeturniug over a lino sonth oi" the other, the resnlts were abont the 

 same. 



We fonnd no evidence of the red elay snpposed to form the bottom 

 of the ocean in the vicinity of the Hawaiian Islands. 



REPORT ON THE MACHINERY. 



[By A. M. Hunt, Assistant Engineer, U. S. N.] 



(Absti-act.) 



Main engines. — During the year, the engines have been in operation 

 2,831 hours while the ship was on her course in free route. The time 

 occui)ied in sounding and dredging at sea, when the engines were 

 w^orked to signals, was 000 hours. The engines have been stopped for 

 sounding and dredging, from full speed ahead, 040 times during the 

 year, in addition to the number of stops incidental to her regular cruis- 

 ing. The ship has steamed 24,991 knots by log, an average of 8.85 knots 

 per hour. The engines have made 10,592,550 revolutions, an average 

 of (J2.5 per minute. The maximum speed recorded during the year is 

 11.45 knots, and the highest average for six hours is 11.15 knots. 



The run from San Francisco to Uualaska, in July, 1891, was made at 

 high speed, and the wear on the crank-pin brasses was very excessive 

 and abnormal. Babbitting the brasses, and changing the oiling gear, 

 has reduced this wear to a minimum. 



Such repairs have been made from time to time as to enable the ship 

 to continue her work, but the engines are now in need of a thorough 

 overhauling. The proiieller shafts have Avorn down very n)uch in the 

 outboard bracket-bearings. The shafts are out of line and the star- 

 board one shows signs of being sprung. Many parts are so worn as to 

 re<iuire renewal, and much of the piping will have to be renewed. These 

 repairs are fast becoming imperative. 



Boilers. — Fires have been lit under the forward boiler, 5,128 hours; 

 under the after one, 4,223 hours; under the donkey boiler, 471 hours. 

 They have given a great deal of trouble during the year. The cast- 

 iron check-valve chambers gave out in the second quarter, and have 

 all been replaced by composition ones. Two hundred and iorty-live 

 new tubes were put in the boilers in June, 1891. Quite a nundjor of 

 these have pitted through, probably owing to imperfections in tubes. 

 During the last two quarters, much trouble has been experienced from 

 the tubes leaking at the back ends. This has become so aggravated 

 during the last quarter that the tubes and connections become choked 



