August 12, 1886] 
NATURE 
345 
the manner in which wreck inquiries are now conducted. 
As matters stand, the evidence obtained at those inquiries, 
and the rulings that are given by the Courts, have no 
scientific or practical value. There is no class of quasi- 
scientific literature that we know of which contains more 
bad science than is to be found in the rulings of the 
Wreck Inquiry Courts. Prof. Elgar puts the case very 
mildly when he says that the returns of the Wreck In- 
quiry Courts are not all that might be wished as regards 
the publication of facts connected with losses, and that 
they are often imperfect and erroneous where difficult 
technical points are involved. He adds that “this pro- 
bably arises from the perfunctory character of many of 
the inquiries ; as it has been explained by the Wreck 
Commissioners that the number of inquiries, and the dis- 
tant places at which they are sometimes held, often make 
exhaustive inquiries impossible.” 
Nothing can be held to excuse imperfect inquiries into 
the causes of those losses at sea which have formed the 
subject of so much public discussion and excitement, and 
respecting which a Royal Commission is now sitting ; and 
nothing would be more likely to promote an increase of 
knowledge, or to lead to the adoption of precautions for 
preventing losses, than thorough and trustworthy inquiries 
into the causes of those losses that so frequently occur. 
The conclusions arrived at by Prof. Elgar in his paper, 
as the result of an examination of the analysis contained 
in it, are the following :— 
(1) The shifting of cargoes is one of the chief causes 
of the foundering of steamers and iron sailing ships at 
sea, independently of mere depth of loading. 
(2) Dangerous shifting of grain sometimes takes place 
through hasty and imperfect stowage, inefficient shifting- 
boards, or weakly-constructed end bulkheads, or through 
the omission to fit end bulkheads, where such are re- 
quired on account of the density of the cargo; and 
dangerous shifting of coal sometimes takes place, because 
it is carried in compartments that are not fitted with 
shifting-boards. 
(3) Many steamers carrying grain and coal cargoes— 
notably the class of narrow three-decked steamers built 
several years ago—are vessels that have insufficient stiff 
ness when fully Jaden, to resist heeling to a dangerous 
angle, in the event of cargo shifting or of water getting 
below. 
(4) The effect upon such vessels of the shifting of cargo, 
and of water below, is generally to hold them over at a 
considerable angle of inclination, but not to completely 
capsize them. 
(5) Pumping power at the bilges is often an essential 
condition of preventing loss in such circumstances, and of 
getting a vessel righted. 
(6) ‘The stability of these vessels when laden with the 
various cargoes they are likely to carry, should be com- 
pletely determined by calculation before they are sent to 
sea; and clear instructions, based upon the information 
so obtained, should be framed for the guidance of those 
who are responsible for their loading. Such instructions 
should include particulars of the empty spaces to be left 
in the ’tween decks, or of the weight of ballast to be 
carried, or both, for each class of cargo. 
(7) All the authentic particulars procurable of ships 
that have foundered and are missing, and of the circum- 
stances and the manner in which the foundered ships 
were lost, should be collected and published periodically 
for the information of the shipping community. 
(8) The losses of steamers through the shifting of 
~ cargoes seem to be chiefly among the narrow steamers of 
the three-decked type that were built several years ago. 
The steamers of that type that have recently been built 
have more beam and much greater stability than those 
into this type of vessels, will lead to a diminution of losses 
among them. 
Mr. Martell’s paper upon “ The Carriage of Petroleum 
in Bulk on Over-sea Voyages” deals very fully with the 
history of the carriage of petroleum by sea, and the 
special-precautions that are necessary to enable it to be 
carried safely and economically in ships. Besides those 
points, however, that are special to the treatment of 
petroleum as a cargo, there are others which naturally 
grow out of a consideration of the subject. There 
is, for instance, the important question of the use 
of liquid fuel for marine propulsion. The mechanical 
difficulties involved by this have now been overcome, so 
that astathi, the residuum of crude oil, might be profitably 
used as fuel for steamers employed upon compara- 
tively short voyages. It is largely and successfully used 
for marine propulsion on the Caspian Sea, where oil is 
very cheap and coal is very expensive. The chief obstacie 
at present to extending the use of this fuel is its cost. 
The price of astatki at Baku varies from 4d. to 1s. 3d. per 
ton ; the carriage by rail to Batoum raises the cost at that 
port to about 1/.; and after adding freight charges for 
bringing it to this country, its total cost on delivery would, 
according to Mr. Martell, be not less than 2/. 2s. From 
these figures it must be evident that while the best steam 
coal can be shipped at Cardiff for about 9s. per ton, liquid 
fuel cannot be economically used in competition with it. 
As the cost of transport of liquid fuel from Baku to Batoum 
becomes reduced—and this can only be a question of 
time—there is no doubt that liquid fuel will come into 
general use for local steamers, and most likely for many 
steamers trading in the Mediterranean. 
Mr. W. John refers, in his paper upon “ Atlantic 
Steamers,” to several matters that are of importance to 
the travelling public. He advocates the adoption of 
twin-screws in first-class Atlantic steamers as a provision 
gainst total breakdown in the event of a shaft, or of any 
other vital part of the propelling machinery, giving way. He 
also advocates a middle-line bulkhead, and greater internal 
subdivision generally, so that ships may be more safe in 
the event of a compartment being bilged through col- 
lision. Mr. John states that improved designs for the 
Atlantic passenger steamers of the future now form the 
subject of work and investigation in the drawing-offices 
of several shipyards. The developments that are taking 
place are, doubtless, generally in the direction of provid- 
ing greater safety against accidents to the hull of the ship, 
or to the propelling machinery, by means of greater in- 
ternal subdivision and twin-screw engines. Higher speeds 
than any yet realised are being contemplated by building 
purely passenger vessels that will carry no cargo ; and 
many improvements of details, which are in the direction 
of making the accommodation for passengers more like 
that furnished by a first-class hotel, are also being devised. 
Mr. Parker’s paper upon “ The Progress and Develop- 
ment of Marine Engineering” forms a supplement to 
one read by Mr. F. Marshall before the Institution of 
Mechanical Engineers at Newcastle-on-Tyne, in 1881. 
Mr. Parker traces the progress that has been made in 
economy of steam propulsion since the introduction of the 
triple expansion-engine by Mr. A. C. Kirk in_ 1874. Mr. 
Kirk fitted triple expansion-engines to the Propontis for 
Mr. W. H. Dixon, in that year, with boilers designed for 
a working pressure of 150lbs. per square inch; but the 
boilers did not prove satisfactory, and were ultimately 
removed. The next triple expansion-engines were those 
of the yacht Zsa, designed by Mr. A. Taylor, of New- 
castle-on-Tyne, in 1877 ; and those of Messrs. G. Thomp- 
son and Sons’ steamer, Aderdeen, which were constructed 
by Mr. A.C. Kirk, in 1881, for a steam pressure of 125 lbs. 
er square inch. The Aberdeen was the real pioneer 
formerly built, and it may be confidently hoped that the | yessel of the triple expansion type of engine; as it was 
attention which has been given to this matter of late, and 
the improvements that have consequently been introduced 
proved in her that triple expansion-engines could be made 
not only to fulfil all the ordinary conditions of working at 
