DESCRIPTION" OP STEAMJlil. 19 



Eacli state-room is provided with roomy berths, first-class 

 spring matrasses, and patent wash shabs and bowls, with conve- 

 nient fixtures, — the latter superior to any we had ever seen. 

 Stationary chairs, with revolving backs, along the dining tables 

 are a very desirable improvement. 



The engines of this great steamship are a credit to the age in 

 which we live. As tide-marks of intellectual development and 

 monuments of man's dominion over matter and over the hidden 

 and latent forces of nature, they far transcend the pyramids that 

 have excited the wonder and admiration of the world for thous- 

 ands of years. While propelling us through the ocean at the rate 

 of thirteen miles an hour with a 1,650 horse power, there was 

 almost no noise, and every part is so j)erfectly adjusted that the 

 motion of the vessel was as gentle as the rocking of a cradle — 

 indeed, more so, for the author found no more difficulty in writing 

 at a table in the purser's room, within six feet of the engines, 

 than he would at a table in any private house. 



Her boilers, tubular cylindrical, are four in number, each 12 

 feet 8 inches in diameter, and 10 feet 6 inches in length. The 

 working pressure is 80 pounds to the square inch. The stroke 

 of the pistons is 54 inches. 



The ship has a patent condenser of 3,000 feet condensing 

 surface, by means of which her supply of Croton water taken 

 in at Xew York is vaporized and condensed constantly during 

 the voyage, thus avoiding the necessity to a great extent of using 

 sea water, and making a very great saving of the boilers, fuel, 

 and labor. 



The propeller has a diameter of 14 feet 3 inches, and it makes 

 70 revolutions per minute. It is of the Hirsch patent, and has 

 four blades, which are so fastened that they can be removed 

 when necessary. 



It is interesting to see in how many ways steam power is 

 brought into requisition to save hibor on this ship. Two donkey 



