I 



■October 16, 1896.] 



SCIENCE. 



567 



would have forfeited the same figures — $25,000 

 for each quarter knot variation from the con- 

 tract. The speed attained exceeded that reached 

 by either of the sister ships. The armor of the 

 'Oregon' is of nickel-steel, 18 to 8 inches 

 thick on the sides, amidships, tapering from its 

 upper to its lower edge. The casemate armor 

 is 4 inches thick, backed by plates 2J inches 

 thick. The turrets are covered by armor of 

 from three and four inches thickness over the 

 smaller guns up to 15 and 17 inches over the 

 13-inch rifles. 



The battery is made up of four 13-inch B. L. 

 rifles, eight 8-inch, and four 6-inch guns, with 

 a quantity of ' rapid-fire ' and ' machine ' guns. 



The engines are two triple-expansion, inver- 

 ted, direct-acting machines, placed side by side 

 in compartments fitted with water-tight doors. 

 Their plan is that usual, in the main, in naval 

 machinery, and they are made exceptionally 

 light and strong by the employment of steel in 

 frames and running parts wherever prac- 

 ticable. Each engine has three cylinders of 

 34j, 48 and 75 inches diameter, respectively, 

 and a piston-stroke of 42 inches. The ratios of 

 cylinder areas are 1,957 and 2,455, or a total 

 ratio of high to low of 2,697. The clearances 

 are from 14 to above 15 per cent. The screws 

 are of 15 feet diameter and 16 feet mean pitch. 

 They are of the Griffith form, 3-bladed, and in- 

 creasing in pitch fore and aft. The cooling 

 surface of the condensers is 6,352.5 square feet, 

 in each engine ; the boilers have a total of 

 16,832 square feet of heating surface, one-third 

 more than the total cooling surface of the con- 

 densers. The grate-surface is of 552 square 

 feet area, and the ratio of H. S. to G. S. is 30.5 

 to 1. A forced draught is employed at full 

 speed. Three electric light and power ' plants' 

 are installed — 24-kilo-watt, G. E., machines, 

 making 400 revolutions a minute and genera- 

 ting an output of 300 amperes at 80 volts. They 

 -are driven, each, by a vertical, compound en- 

 gine, 8 J and 13 inches diameter, by 8 inches 

 stroke. Six hundred and six lights are dis- 

 tributed about the ship, and four 25,000 candle- 

 power search-lights are mounted . on the pilot 

 house and bridge. They take an 80-ampere 

 current at 50 volts. The contractor's engine- 

 room force was one chief engineer, in charge. 



one in the fire rooms, four engineers in the en- 

 gine and fire rooms, 16 oilers, 16 machinists, 4 

 storekeepers, and 4 wipers in the engine room; 

 37 firemen, 37 coal passers, 8 water tenders, in 

 the fire rooms ; 16 oilers and 11 machinists and 

 4 helpers, on the deck and in the smaller en- 

 gine rooms — a total of 161 men. The steam 

 pressure on the trial was continuously 163 

 pounds per square inch by gauge. The engines 

 made 128 revolutions per minute, and de- 

 veloped 10,890 I. H. P. total. 



The coal consumption amounted to 2,123 

 pounds per I. H. P., 38.3 per square foot of 

 grate, and 1.22 per square foot of heating sur- 

 face ; while the cooling surface of the con- 

 densers had a ratio of 1.22 per I. H. P., and 

 the boiler heating surface 1,745 per I. H. P. 



This is a good example of the best work of 

 modern naval establishments, and illustrates 

 well the ability of the construction and en- 

 gineer's bureau of our own navy department. 

 The ship combines speed and offensive and de- 

 fensive power in a degree which excites the 

 wonder and admiration of even those who are 

 most familiar with the advances made in recent 

 years in the arts of naval construction and steam 

 engineering. E.. H. T. 



GENERAL. 



A STATUE to Pasteur has been unveiled at 

 Alais, in the center of the French silkworm dis- 

 trict. 



At the opening of the Versammlung Deutsche 

 Naturforscher und Aertzte, at Frankfurt, on Sep- 

 tember 21st, there was laid the foundation stone 

 of a monument to von Sommering, the eminent 

 physiologist and anatomist, who died in 1830. 



Nature states the monument to Lobachevsky, 

 erected at Kazan, in a square which bears the 

 name of the great geometer, was unveiled on 

 September 13th, in the presence of the Bishop 

 of Kazan, the Governor of the province, the 

 University, the local Physical and Mathemati- 

 cal Society, and a great number of sympathizers. 

 The Mayor of Kazan made a statement as to the 

 funds raised for the erection of the monument. 

 Prof. SuvorofF refei-red to the scientific work of 

 Lobachevsky in mathematics and physics, and 

 Prof. Vasilietf spoke of the great geometer as 

 one whose life was worthy of emulation, and as 



