TRANSACTIONS OF SECTION G. 855 
wood, leaving the resultant crystals deposited in the pores. The wood is then 
dried in a kiln at an even temperature not exceeding 120° F., having a free circu- 
lation of dry air. The time required for proper drying varies from three to seven 
weeks, depending upon the thickness of the wood. After the woad is thoroughly 
dry it is ready for use, and will be found to be flaue- and fire-resisting, merely 
carbonising at the point of contact with fire. 
The resistance of treated wood to the passage of electricity is decreased, while 
the heat-resisting properties are increased. A piece of yellow pine an inch thick 
placed over the flame of a Bunsen burner, having on its upper surface some grains 
of gunpowder, will not impart in four hours sufficient heat through the wood 
to ignite the gunpowder. 
Experience has shown that care must be taken to have the treated wood 
thoroughly dry befcre paint is applied. 
The wisdom of the American Government in having the woodwork of its 
ships of war made non-flammable was well exemplified during their recent war 
with Spain, when, as is well known, several of the Spanish ships at Manilla and 
Santiago de Cuba were burnt to the water’s edge by the woodwork of the same 
being set on fire from the bursting of the American shell, while more than one 
American ship, having non-flammable wood on board, although shot through and 
through, received no injury from fire. 
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 15, 
The following Report and Papers were read :— 
1. Report on Small Screw Gauges.—See Reports, p. 464. 
2. A Short History of the Engineering Works of the Suez Canal to the 
Present Time. By Sir Cuartes Hartiey, X.C.1.G4. 
3. Fast Cross-Channel Steamers driven by Steam Turbines. 
By Hon, C, A. Parsons, 7.R.S. 
4, The Niclausse Water-Tube Boiler. 
By Mark Rostinson, M.Inst.0.£. 
5. On the Discharge of Torpedoes below Water. 
By Captain E. W. Luoyp, of Elswick. 
Torpedoes have not in actual warfare, up to the present, had any direct 
influence, but they are retained as part of the armament of large ships, as no 
Government likes to take the initiative in discarding them. As recent wars have 
shown that torpedoes fired from above-water apparatus are a source of great 
danger to their possessors, the necessity for discharge below the water has become 
apparent. ‘This necessity has been well met by the introduction of the Elswick 
Submerged Torpedo Tube. This tube has been designed with a view to firing 
torpedoes from the broadside of a ship travelling at high speeds. Discharge is 
referably done by means of cordite, and it is only necessary to press a firing key 
in the conning tower for the shield to be run out, the torpedo ejected, and the 
shield returned. During the discharge, the ship travelling at a speed of 17 knots, 
the torpedo is subjected to a total pressure of about 5:2 tons, and the shield or spoon 
of the torpedo tube has to be made strong enough to support it against this strain. 
