CONDUCTKD BY ISAAC HIZ-L. 



"Thosl who labob in the e.vrth are the chosen people ov God, \vhose brevets hc ii\s mvde ma pecumau deposite for suoaxANTUkL and genuine virtue." — Jefferson. 



VOLUME V. 



CONCORD, N. H. JUNE 50, 1843. 



NUMBER 6. 



THE FARMEK-S MONTHLY VISITOR, 



PIUILISHKD IJY 



ISAAC HILL, & SONS, 



TSSUED 0?i TH£ LAST DAY OF EVEKY MO.NTH, 



At No. 3, Hill's Brick Block. 



i^j^GT.T<KRAL A^.E^-T£.— B. CooK, Kcpnc, N" H. ; Thomas 

 R. Hamptok, Wasiiiugtnn City, D. C. ; John Marsh, Wash- 

 ington St. Huston, Mas;.; CHARLE3 Warren^, Bfinley Koiv, 

 XA'orcester, Mass. 



TERMS,— To single si:IJ3cribc>i.s, Fi/iu C0&. Ten per 

 cent, wil) be Kllowed to the perdon who shiill send mure Ihan 

 one subscriber. 'J'welve copies will be sent for the advance 

 fiAymeni of Fire Dolljjrs ; tvventy-livi! copies fur Toi Dollars; 

 sixty copies Tor Ticenty Dollar-^. The payment in every case to 

 be niaile in advance. 



^^Cj'^oneij and sii.b:icription.^, hij n rrffulation of the Poit Mnstcr 

 Oencrhlj may in all cases be remiUed by tlic Post- Masto-^ free of 

 postage. 



f):y'.\l] gentlemen wlin have heretofore acted as Ajcnt^ aie 

 requested to continue their Agency. Old suli.scribers who 

 come under tlie new term.', will please notify us of the names 

 already on our books, 



^{]C iilouti)lij bisitor. 



For the Farmer's Motithl)' Visitor. 



The submerged water-wheel of Lt. Hunter, 



of the U. S. Navy. 



Every iiii|iroveiiieiit in sciuiicc, or llie meclmn- 

 ic art.-j, has iiii injiiiediate or rejiiole lieuring up- 

 on asjricultiirp, aiul the cultivator of the soil. 

 The cxten.sion of tho a|)[ilio;;tion of sleani power 

 within the last I'orty y(3ar.s. lias greatly changed 

 the condition of hnrnaii society, and this chan!j;e 

 appears to he still inaUing onward in its comse. 

 We have in Arncrica a irrcator extent of railroad 

 (iian is to he found in any nation on the globe 

 we' inlialiit ; and the largest iininl)er of sleatn 

 vessels eni[)Ioyed in onr inlei-coin\se hetween 

 each other. 



These facilities distrihiite alike our people and 

 the productions of iheir labor from the most dis- 

 tant parts of our country, ei|iia!izing the prices 

 ui our marts of trade, and tending to equalize 

 the value of pro|)erty all over the country. 



So proinpl has been this change that while it 

 exists in fact, men can hardly realize its trntb, 

 and it will take another generation to make it 

 corn|dete. It will take time to extirpate the fact, 

 that lands lying four or tive hundred miles from 

 our cities, are as valuable, or nearly so, as tho.se 

 within Com- or five miles only. These are changes 

 that belong to a stale of peace — lrani]uil, gentle, 

 christian peace ; but it appears that the alteration 

 v.'ill be as ,';jcat and as striking in a state of war. 

 Steamboats and railroads are here as important 

 «nd will doubtless be as decisive. At sea no 

 longer will be heard the importance of wind- 

 ward a>id leeward, in the reports of naval con- 

 flicts; no more the fearful apprehensions of a 

 ^lee shore, and disnfissed will be the awful terrors 

 of the gale. Steam, |)Ouerful steam, enables* 

 feeble man to triumph over tliese powerful ele- 

 ments of nature. He yokes one element in su- 

 perior strength against another, and marches au 

 the deep against wind, waves and tides. 



Among the improvements that have been made, 

 and the following one of Lt. Hmiter, will doidit- 

 less be still (iu-lher penetrated : this has appeared 

 to ns as very important, es|)ecially on the ocean. 

 The paddle wheels acting constantly under wa- 

 ter are not subject to be now lifted out of the 

 water and then buried as in the ordinary boat, in 

 wb!6h the tbrmer is almost lost in rough" weather. 

 Below the rough surliicc they push steadily on, 

 quietly and couslaiiljy. For canals, also, may we 

 not look for great advantages, obviating the" ob- 

 jetfnons to other steamboats, which requii-e so 

 much rnoui, and agitate the waters, does it not 

 promise to siijiersede all other kinds of power ? 

 Hut we anticipate too much. Lt. Hunter, who 

 has had great experience, undei-stands this mat- 

 ter best, and let him speak, as be does in the 

 following cominu'iicstions upon this subject: — 



To tlie .'Vnjjfrf Cumiaitiees of the Senate and House 



of Reprcsf.ntntit^e.i of the United Stales : 



111 presenting the accompanying model of a 

 steamer for harbor defence as well as for service 

 at sea to the consiiJeration of your honorable 

 committees, I beg leave to submit with it the 

 followiuff remarks : 



It is manifest, ami imiversally admitted, that 

 the heavy armed national stoim vessels of l''iUrope 

 may be placed in evtyy navigable water that is 

 not adeijuately deliiudeil against this new power. 

 B)' reason of their eelcriti/ and ceitainty of move- 

 ment, \.he shot which shall announce their assault 

 will he the first iiitiination had of their approach, 

 and their attack thus becomes the more formi- 

 dable because accofnpanied by the panic of sur- 

 prise. It is also known that the extent of our 

 inland navigable waters is more than twice the 

 extent of our sea coast, and, forming the great 

 highways for transportation, bear on their siu-fii- 

 ces, and in the comnn'icial depots established on 

 their shores, the contributions of tlic two great- 

 est sources of national wealth — the produce of 

 the .soil and the produclions of the art and in- 

 dustry of the country. It is further known that 

 the naval |)owers of Europe have already exten- 

 sively applied to their fleets this powerful auxil- 

 iary of steam. In view of these fitcts, the fol- 

 lowing self-evident truths are tlierefore present- 

 ed : first, that our vulnerable extent of territory 

 is trebled ; and, second, that protection is now 

 required against a new form of naval power, 

 possessing, as before stated, celeril)/ and certainty 

 of movement. 



This controlling change in the mode of naval 

 warfire has placed our counti-y on a vantage 

 giouiid cnfmently beyond all others, and it be- 

 hooves us to improve it. On the bunks of the 

 great outlets of our vast interior to the ocean, 

 and far removed from the seaboard, the earth 

 teems with the iron and the coal, the main es- 

 sentials to our defence, while the operatives, 

 skilled by long habit in working them, abound 

 in every section of our country. Nature has 

 thus furnished in chief the elements of protec- 

 tion required against this new power, at points 

 so advantageously placed, that the means of pro- 

 tection we shall propose will he stripped of much 

 of the enormous cost which has ever heretofore 

 attended our systems of defence. With tlie 

 materials at hand, and removed fi'om the danger 

 of assault Viy reason of their being so tin- inland, 

 defences will no longer be required to protect 

 our docks and arsenals of construction ; nop will 

 we find annually inciunbering our naval estimates 

 the huge amounts for repairs upon iron steamers, 

 which we here propose to build, and upon which 

 we propose to i.;ly as our itieans of defence, 

 which now (brni one of our largest items of na- 

 val expenditure. 



Having reached this point, let us examine into 

 the comparative merits of this system of defence 

 and its economy. We claim lor it— 



1st. That the original cost of these vessels 

 shall be but one-half of that of the ships here- 

 tofore dependetl U|ion to perform the service for 

 which this controlling change in naval warfare 

 has entirely unhtted them, and that these vessels 

 shall secure to us the control of the sea. 



In demonstration of tiiis, a galvanized iron 

 stcamiu- of this description, of 3,1^3 45-!.).5 tons, 

 mounting on one deck a liattery more formidable 

 than that of a first class ship of the line, viz: ii2 

 ten-inch double fortified shell guns can be built 

 for $350,000, a sum nearly one-third less than 

 the average cost to the Government for the con- 

 struction andequipment of the North Carolina* 



" Cobt of' the Delaware. 

 Cost of the JNorth Carolina, 



p-f.>,3i;S 

 « 1,852 



Aggregate, 975,220 



The Nor?!; Carolina cost less thin any other ^d in the 

 service. 



or Delaware, exclusive of their armament an 

 stores, which amounted in the aggregate to 

 $975,S;iO, or to ;v487,6I0 for each. A reference 

 to the annexed paper marked A, being "an enu- 

 meration of the many advantages of Huiiter'a 

 steamer," will exhibit clearly the superiority of 

 this moiio of cuiislruclion overall others. Being 

 impervtous to shot, ever under entire control, 

 whether by steam or sail, with speed equal to 

 any emergency, and throwing a greater concen- 

 trated weight of metal, (superior in range to any 

 thing known,) our position will be conceded to 

 us, that a fleet of these vessels will secure to us 

 the control of the sea. 



9d. We claim for tliese vessels an entire ex- 

 emption from cost for repairs. 



Because the iron, of w liich ir is juoposed to 

 construct aiid cipiip them, having undergone the 

 process of galvanism, is freed from corrosion by 

 rust, and therefore becomes indestructible ; and, 

 as a corollary from this, it follows: 



3d. That from the character of their construc- 

 tion and equipment, they will be ever ready for 

 sea. 



4tli. The expense of mainlaining them will be 

 one-third less than that of the ships now afloat, 

 and the means of riianning them ever at hand. 



Because the number of seamen required for 

 them is nine-tenths less than the complement for 

 the ships now in use, whilst able-bodied lands- 

 men will riiake up the rest of their crew, which 

 shall number but two-thirds that of a ship of the 

 line. The use of steam being designed as an 

 auxiliary power solely, wholly independent of 

 the canvass, and i^flicient in itselt; it will be re- 

 Borteil to only on emergencies; its cost will 

 therelbrc be com|)aratively light, whilst the wear 

 ;uid tear of thi'ir canvass, gearing, Sec, (it being 

 so simple,) will be insigniticant when contrasted 

 with that of the ships, and will in reality save n 

 difference equal to the cost of iheir fuel. 



.'jtli. 'I'heir capacity for carrying fuel is so great 

 that, without the aid of canvass, they will be en- 

 abled to keep the sea as regular cruisers for two 

 months, and with sails aloiu; they will be ns effi- 

 cient as any otli(>r class of vessels. 



This position will he made maiiili^st, as well 

 as the following, by an ius|)ection of tlie annexed 

 paper A, and the accompanying model." 



fitli. They cannot be sunk by shot from cannon 

 afloat, nor can they be destroyed by fire. _ 



7tli. By reason of their light draught ofwater, 

 (it never exceeding sixteen feet in the largest 

 class vessel,) all of ourSoiilhern harbors (to none 

 of which our larger ships can now have access) 

 will be rendered availalde and open for protec 

 lion or defence. 



8tli. This floating force, pos.sessed of celerity 

 and certainty of movement, L-iw, with llie rapidity 

 of an express, be concentrated at any given point 

 of attack, and the expendilure necessary tr» its 

 entire creation will cost the country absoluiely 

 less than the fixed deftjiices for Hampton road 

 and the depot at Norfolk alone.* 



These positions conclusively established, as 

 we regard thetn to be, illustrate the incalculable 

 advantages, in point of usefidness, efficieiicyianrl 

 economy, which this system presents over our 

 present means of defence, whether employed in 

 protecting our commerce in the remoiest qiiar 

 ters of the earth, or used as a defi hce lor our 

 firesides and homes from foreign invusion. 

 All of which is respectfully suhmiltid. 

 WM. W. HUNTEK, 

 Lieutenant United Stales A'avy. 



February -20, 1843. 



» Cost of Fortress Monroe, at Old Point 



Comfort, S3£J0,2S! 



Cost of Fort Calhoun, at the Ripraps, lj983,726 



Total, 



■l.Ofi.nirt 



