THE CONQUEST OF TIME AND SPACE 



ing of about half the amount of fuel over engines of 

 the older type. As a result steamers were able to com- 

 pete successfully with the sailing ships, even as freighters 

 for long voyages, such as those between Europe and 

 Australia. 



During the reactive period in France immediately 

 following the Franco-Prussian war, when there was 

 great activity in shipbuilding, the use of mild steel 

 plates in place of wrought iron was tried. The supe- 

 riority of this material over iron was quickly demon- 

 strated, and as the cost of steel was constantly less- 

 ening, thanks to the newly discovered methods of 

 production, steel practically replaced iron in ship 

 construction after this time. 



It was during this same period that a new type of 

 passenger steamer was produced — the "ocean grey- 

 hound.'* The first of these was the Oceanic, built by 

 the White Star Company in 1871. This ship was re- 

 markable in many ways. Her length, four hundred 

 and twenty feet, was more than ten times her beam; 

 iron railings were substituted for bulwarks; and the 

 passenger quarters were shifted from the position near 

 the stem to the middle of the vessel. All these changes 

 proved to be distinct improvements, and the Oceanic 

 became at once the most popular, as well as the fastest 

 ocean liner. 



Like all the other boats of the seventies and early 

 eighties, the Oceanic was a single-screw vessel. The 

 advantage of double propellers in case of accident had 

 long been recognized, but hitherto twin-screws had not 

 proved as efficient as a single screw in developing speed. 



[80] 



