616 TRANSACTIONS OF THE 



" Simla,'' "Atrato," " Enice,'' and " Persia," being among tlie last 

 built, having more or less of their standing rigging of wire rope. 



I will take the liberty of reading to you an extract from a 

 paper read by Mr. Andrew Smith before the Mechanical Section 

 of the British Association for the advancement of Science, at St. 

 George's Hall, Liverpool, in September 1854. 



" In the year 1848 the British navy had in commission 376 

 ships of every class. The expense for hempen rope for standing 

 rigging, for the above number of ships, (hempen rope being at the 

 rate of about .£40 per ton,) amounted to about <£l 14,330. In 

 consequence of wire rope being twice as strong for the same 

 weight of hempen rope, the cost for the standing rigging of the 

 above number of ships, made of wire rope, amounted to about 

 ii86,000 thus showing a saving of about .£28,000, for one outfit 

 of the Royal navy. At that time wire rope was £66 per ton. 



"As there are now more than double the number of ships in 

 commission, and the price of hempen rope is also doubled, or £80 

 per ton, the cost to the country for an outfit of standing hempen 

 rigging would be .£914,640. 



" Wire rope on the contrary is reduced to £40 per ton, instead 

 of £60 as in 1848. The use therefore of wire rope instead of 

 hempen, would effect a saving in an outfit for the whole navy of 

 £457,320. Beyond this the Avire rope is much more durable. 



" Speaking from an experience of twenty years, it may be taken 

 as three times more durable; in fact, unlike hemp, the older the 

 wii*e is the stronger it gets. Several ships in the Royal navy 

 have been fitted from 15 to 16 years with this rope, and it is now 

 as good as when first put over the masthead. Hempen rope in 

 the Royal navy is fitted every three years, or every time the ships 

 are put in commission. In the port of Liverpool a great number 

 of vessels have been fitted with wire rope about fifteen years; 

 consequently if it is admitted to be three times more lasting or 

 durable than hempen rope, there would be a saving effected in 

 three commissions, or nine years, for the standing rigging of the 

 Royal navy of £1,371,960. 



As enormous as this aggregate saving may appear when the 

 comparison is applied to the royal navy, I will venture the asser- 

 tion, that an equally economical pro rata result will be arrived 

 at, when the comparison is made with our own navy; and I 

 regret that I have not been able in the brief and periodical leisure 

 I have had to devote in preparing this paper, to ol^tain data and 

 make the comparison. The foregoing, however will answer the 



