Siya ON PREVENTING THE DECAY OF SHIPS. 



A trial might sawing tjie thick planks, that are to be mucli bent, into two 

 on a°srn il P^^'^^f might also be employed for this purpose. If a doubt 

 scale. shonUl exist of tiie efficacy of wood p^-epared in these several 



ways to prevent the dry rot, specimens mi^ht be placed in 

 a ship almost destroyed thereby, such a one as I recollect to 

 hi^ve seen at Woohvich about 13 years since, which was in so 

 bad a state, tliat the decks sunk with a man's weight, and 

 the orange and brown coloured fungi were hanging in the 

 shape of inverted cones from deck to deck. A few months 

 trial of wood put into a ship so infected would prove the ef- 

 ficacy of either mode of preparation. 



Exsiccation of timber in an oven, as recommended by 

 Fourcroy, is also likely to add considerabl}'^ to its dura- 

 bility. 



One farther precaution is necessarj'-. After a ship is built, 

 she should lie at least six months in ordinary, with her 

 hatchways covered to prevent the admission of rain water ; 

 some planks should be removed in the ceiling, and above the 

 waterway? of the several decks ; and fires constantly kept in 

 stoves, placed in the hold, and on the decks; by which 

 means the moisture, that the charcoal may have attracted, 

 will be dissipated, and the durability of the fabric insured. 



Having stated these general circumstances with a view to 

 prevent evils, which yearly exist to a great extent in the 

 nav» ; I trust it will be the means of calling forth the 

 opinions and abilities of those, whose minds have be©n 

 directed, or whose occupations may lead them, to a consi- 

 deration of this important subject. 



I am, &c. &c. 

 1 1 th of November, 1811. N AtJTICUS. 



X. 



On the Art of Coating Metals iviih Platina : 5y Mr. 



GUYTGN-MORYEAU.* 



Platina may j\_ HE appli^tidn of platisaon other metals less valuable, 



be applied on ^^^ prevent their oxidation, may he considered under two 



other metals . „ . i- rr itm r. « i 



in two ways, points OT view, or as two dinerent arts. Ihe first of these 



* Aimt de Chim. toI, LXXVII, p. 297, 



