172 THE HOME OF A NATURALIST. 



times as high as they ever are, there would be no 

 danger whatever to a boat, or for the matter of that to 

 a vessel either, except from the strain of her rolling. 

 There would be no " shipping " of tremendous " seas " 

 of which we so often read, no poor sailors and deck 

 cargoes swept overboard, no smashing of binnacles and 

 bulwarks. An expedient so simple might often be of 

 invaluable service in saving life and property. The 

 difficulty and peril, for instance, of launching a boat 

 from a sinking ship in a storm are mostly caused 

 by the wind breaking the waves over the boat and 

 filling her or dashing her to pieces against the vessel's 

 side. The danger of such a mishap would unquestion- 

 ably be greatly lessened by throwing overboard some 

 oil, which ought always to be kept htody. Boats also 

 going from one ship to the assistance of another in 

 distress, and life-boats on their way to a wreck and 

 boarding it, might often with very great advantage 

 use a little oil, if its effects were only better known. 

 Again, we often read of boats adrift on the sea from a 

 foundered or burning ship, and it is marvellous how 

 frequently they are able to weather the fiercest storms 

 though often greatly overcrowded ; but many a time 

 they are swallowed up, when a little oil judiciously 

 used during the worst of the storm might have been 

 the means of saving them. 



Another case in which oil might be of the greatest 

 service is when a man accidentally falls or is washed 

 overboard. Life-buoys are thrown into the sea, the 

 ship is brought to as quickly as possible, boats are 



