[81] U. S. FISH COMMISSION STEAMER ALBATROSS. 83 



ing the trawl and reeling up the rope, was considered ; but it was evi- 

 dent that a reel of sufficient capacity for 5,000 fathoms of dredge rope, 

 with strength to withstand the enormous crushing strain it would have 

 to endure, would be too heavy and unwieldy for our purposes, and was 

 consequently discarded. 



Having linally recognized the necessity for two separate engines, one 

 for hoisting and another for reeling, we decided to place the former on 

 the spar deck, forward of the foremast, and the latter directly under it 

 on the berth deck, for the double purpose of protecting the machinery 

 and dredge rope from the weather, and placing the weight as low as 

 possible in the vessel Various plans were considered and rejected for 

 one reason or another, until finally the writer submitted rough pencil 

 sketches of the types considered by him as most nearly answering the 

 requirements, to Mr. Earle O. Bacon, of Messrs. Oopeland & Bacon, 85 

 Liberty street, New York. 



He reduced them to proper proportions and perfected such parts as 

 were left to his discretion. They were subsequently ordered from the 

 above-mentioned firm and constructed under the personal supervision 

 of Mr. Bacon. They have performed their work admirably. 



THE GOVERNOR. 



The hoisting engine being located on the spar deck, and the reeling 

 engine on the deck below, entirely hidden from view, it became neces- 

 sary to have some automatic device by which the movements of the 

 latter would be governed by those of the former, not only to guard 

 against parting the dredge rope, but to insure a uniform tension on it 

 while being wound on the reel. 



With that object in view the writer devised the governor (Plate 

 XXV) described in connection with the reeling engine in the engineer 

 department. The working drawings were made by Passed Asst. Engr. 

 Geo. W. Baird, U. S. N., who superintended its construction. He also 

 suggested attaching the bell crank to a pressure valve instead of the 

 throttle, which is a great improvement, as it leaves the latter under 

 control of the attendant at all times ; and the former, once set to the 

 desired tension, requires no further adjustment, and only occasional 

 verification through the medium of a dynamometer. 



DEEP-SEA TRAWL. 



The deep-sea trawl frame (Plate XL VI) is a slight modification of " the 

 standard trawl for deep-sea work, No. 1," described by Sigbee in Deep- 

 sea Sounding and Dredging, p. 151. It is necessary for the successful 

 operation of the beam trawl that it should land on the bottom right 

 side up. The officers of the Blake, having experienced. some vexatious 

 delays from capsizing, devised a double trawl which worked equally 

 well either side up, and was subsequently used on board that vessel 

 with excellent results. 



