484 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



[Dec. 2, 1898 



Arriving shortly after the bathers had disappeared we found the 

 •owner of the place, from whom we received a courteous assent in 

 ^answer to our request to camp out on his beach. 



After the Swallow was hauled up, preparations for supper were be- 

 gun, to the great interest and amusement of the lady bathers, now 

 emerged from their dressing rooms, and who proved to be city people 

 enjoying their summer outing at Lakeside, such being the name of 

 the beach. After supper a stroll was indulged in, and shortly after 

 dark the occupants of the Swallew had turned in and were about half 

 asleeiJ, when they were aroused by the sounds of merry voices, and 

 the summer boarders were again on hand in the usual proportion of a 

 half dozen of the softer sex to one male. Singing and stylarking at 

 a camp-fire are highly interesting doubtless, but when one is sleepy 

 .and not "in it" there be other things more absorbing, so the fitful 

 snoring of the two mariners was soon a sort of obligato to the song 

 and laughter on the beach. 



We were shortly after awalrened from our doze by the sound of 

 whispers and suppressed giggling near at hand, which proceeded from 

 a bevy of girl.s, who, like true daughters of Eve, were curious for a 

 closer inspection of the outfit of the two strangers, whom they believed 

 to be asleep, and whose quarters they had banteringly approached on 

 tiptoes. Much feminine comment was whisperingly indulged in over 

 our table, whice was set for breakfast, and we were amused at the 

 commiserating tones in which they spoke of "two men trying to do 

 their own cooking." It was to be feared at one time from the indig- 

 nant, though smothered grunts and snorts that emerged from the 

 chefs end of the boat that he was about to emerge from his shelter 

 and argue that point with them. 



At length, however, they withdrew, and we knew naught more until 

 daylight. After an early breakfast we were favored with a visit from 

 our host, and after a stroll with him over his grounds, the Swallow was 

 headed for St. Joe. twenty-two miles distant.' 



Scarcely a breath of air was stirring and we crawled along with a 

 hardly perceptible motion, with the sun beating down upon us with a 

 fierce and constantly increasing intensity, until it became too much for 

 even our seasoned pates. 



At 11 o'clock, warned, in spite of moistened cloths worn inside our 

 hats, by the throbbing of our temples and the strained fullness of our 

 eyeballs, that the danger line was approaching, we slowly made the 

 beaoh. about a mile distant, and after the temporary reUef of a bath, 

 lay quiescent under the shade of a tree and in the airiest of costumps. 



The spot chosen proved to be a desolate o^e, the settlement being a 

 couple of miles back from the coast on account of a long inland 

 •swamp behind the timbered sandhills. Not a breath of air was stir- 

 ring, the leaves of the trees hung lifeless, the hot sand shone with a 

 gleam painful to the eyes, not a sound was heard save the constant 

 hum of inisects and the metallic whirr of the locust— all nature seemed 

 oppressed with the overpowering sultriness. After the lightest of 

 luncheons, we tried vainly to read, to talk, to sleep. It seemed as if 

 our exposure of the morning had affected our nerves, for without 

 energy we were filled with a strange restlessness. Covering the upper 

 part of our faces with damp cloths to shut out the fierce light, we 

 dozed away the day fitfully and uneasily, pestered by all manner of 

 humming, buzzing and crawling things. 



All day long we lay in our retreat until about dusk, a land breeze 

 siDringiner up, we embarked, hoping to recuperate our wasted energies 

 as well as to make a few miles' headway in the cool of the evening. 

 The breeze continued to freshen, and as the Swallow sped joyously 

 along under full sail our spirits revived and we threw off the dull 

 lethargy of the day. 



St. Joe was 18 miles away, and we reeled off mile after mile in fine 

 style until yiitch dark, when the c/i?/ suggested that we go ashore for 

 supper and camp. The skipper said little, but keot right on sailing. 

 The breeze was an ideal one and perfectly steady. Up to evening we 

 had made but four miles. Our average was suffering, and though the 

 night was dark as a pocket, the rush through the water and the play 

 of the breeze were delightful after the unconscionable heat of the day. 



•'Keepyour eye open for fish-nets and stakes, you man of pots and 

 pans." quoth the skipper, "and j'ou shall sleep in St. Joe this night." 

 "Luff her, har-r-d!" faii'ly yelled the cfte/ in reply, and the Swallow 

 brought up quivering in the darkness within 10ft. of a fish-pound. It 

 was a close shave, but no damage, and on we sped for another half 

 hour with the St. Joe light looming up in the distance. "Luff again !" 

 yelled the lookout, and again we brought up dangerously close to a 

 net. Fearing lest they might become more numerous as we ap- 

 proaehert St." Joe, and the breeze having materially freshened, we 

 shortened sail and felt our way slowly till we rounded the light and at 

 10 o'clnck drew up on the beach alongside the bathing toboggan of the 

 Hotel St .loseph. 



.\ dance was iu progress and all was bright and gay at this resort, 

 and in the ujtervals the piazza was thronged with couples iu evening 

 costimie through which the two sun-baked, travel-stained tramps 

 passed, intent upon supper and bed, and followed by curious and in- 

 quiring glances from many a white-clad maid. 



After a fine night's rest and an excellent breakfast a start was made 

 at 9 o'clock for South Haven, distant twenty miles, with a head wind 

 and quite a lump of a sea, the worst possible conditions for a boat of 

 our type, which, being intended for river sailing, can make but little 

 headway in rough water on the wind. 



Soon after setting out the wind freshened and rollec up such a surf 

 that it was not possible to land without wetting both ourselves and 

 cargo, and the latter being well covered against spray, we settled 

 down for an all-day beat, and we certainly had it, and most exasper- 

 ating it was to note our slow progress and poor course in the big seas. 

 His companion declared that during the entire day the skipper was 

 half hidaen in a violet haze of profanity. 



But all things have an end, and after a long day of tossing and buf- 

 feting we made South Haven about dark, and, leaving our craft at the 

 Life Saving Station, proceeded to a hotel. We must confess appear- 

 ances were against us, and we were not surprised when the clerk ap- 

 pealed to the landlord: "Say, these fellows want a double-bedded 

 room." "Well, they can't git it," was the prompt and somewhat alco- 

 holic rejoinder. "Yes, begad, tbey kin, too; blankety blank me if 1 

 didn't cleanforgit about 80: give 'em that." 



Thirty proved to contain two very good beds, and the travelers 

 were soon iu the land of nod, though both confessed to tossing in their 

 dreams in continuation of the shaking up had during the day. 



A strong N.W. wind and a heavy sea, while adding materially to the 

 view from the bluffs, put a veto upon starting out the next day: so 

 our tiniu was put in doing the town and vicinity. The former has 

 rather an unusual situation, being intersected by several deep I'avines, 

 giving it something of an individuality, while the view lakeward from 

 the blutfs is very fine, reminding one of the New Jersey coast. A num- 

 ber of beach resorts finely situated lend an air of liveliness to South 

 Haven, although the town is not dependent upon the summer boarder 

 for its prosperity, as it is in the very e< nter oC the fruit belt, and 

 boasts a daily line of steamers to Chicago. 



South Haveu is a prolubit^ion town, out future voyagers may be 

 assured tli.at their liquid needs can be supplied without difficulty by 

 dint of a little quiet inquiry— at least we had no trouble in getting 

 our order.^ for the "goods" filled promptly, and an excellent quality 

 of Milwaukee brew it proved. 



During the day a visit was made to. the State Experimental Farm 

 in the subiu hs, and we were much pleased at the results of "Know- 

 how" as applied to farming. We were especially struck with the 

 fine appearance of a 2.i-aere field of corn this drouthy season, its 

 condition being pei-ft ct in every I'espect. while throughout the vicin- 

 ity the coin had t-ithei' been cut for fodder or was so badly fired 

 that not m<ii'e than one-fourth of a crop can be expected. The aver- 

 age fannei' does not seem to realize that it pays to farm with "brains," 

 to judge from appearances. 



Beyond the Stale Farm we came on a friendly old peach farmer, 

 and during a hall hour's gossip he kindly filled us with rip'e peaches 

 from his eai'Iy trees. Dui'ing our stay we were also the recipients of 

 miiny courtesies at the hands of the president of the village of 

 South Haveu, but we regret to state that having neglected to lock 

 th'^ locker in our boat we were relieved, iu our' absence, of an un- 

 opened quart bottle of 3 star Ivlouongahela. This was doubtless the 

 work of some nnleut. prohibitionist who desired to remove tempta- 

 tion from our path, and wlu) could not conceive that the liquor was 

 intended for medicinal purposes only, 



The next moruiug a\ e started under a reef, with a strong, puffy land 

 breeze from the S E , and made a fine run to Saugatuck, eighteen 

 miles, in three hours, passing Ganges Pier en route. Saugatuck is a 

 quiet village, perhaps a mile inland, on a picturesque river which 

 widens into a lake, on the opposite shore of which is the small vihage 

 of Douglas. The view from the observatory at Saugatuck, both lake- 

 ward and inland, is specially fine. 



From Saugatuck to Ottawa Beach was a long, slow beat, the wind 

 having headed us; but we arrived about 3 P. JML., and found both 

 Ottawa and Macatawa beaches populous with sixteen carloads of ex- 

 cursionists from interior points. Steam launches, ferry and excmsion 

 steamers, canoes, yachts and all manner of pleasure boats, together 

 with numerous bathers and promenaders, made an animated picture 

 equalled by few resorts on this coast. 



The shores of Black Lake we found fully occupied with resorts and 

 summer cottages. At the head of the lake, about six miles from the 

 beach, is the thriving town of Holland, This was settled, as was msot 

 of the .surrouudiug (•ountiy, bv Hollanders, who were attracted by the 

 low lands, so like those they had left across the ocean. Lately new 

 blood and rnoderu methods have infused fresh life into the old town, 

 and it now boasts a fine ue.w hotel, keptupin good style, together with 

 many haudsomo stores and buildings. Many of the signs as yet, how- 

 ever, tell of theiiii-sence of the lie Groots, Van Trumps, De Pauws, 

 etc,, in goodly n, rubers. 



After a. night ax Oitawii Beach we started next morning for Grand 

 Havon, 20 miles, with a fine S.E. breeze, arriving about noon. 

 After dim;er we tool? the little excursion steamer for a trip around 



Spring Lake, which we found to be a beautifully situated and irregu- 

 lar sheet of water, upon the banks of which are found many pretty 

 villas and resorts, the chief of the latter being the Spring Lake House, 

 adjoining the village of that name, and three miles from Grand 

 Haven. At the head of the lake, eight miles distant, is Fruitport, 

 once a thriving resort, but the hotel was destroyed by fire a dozen 

 years ago and has never been rebuilt. Throughout this locality are 

 found magnetic springs specially valuable in rheumatic complaints, 

 and at any of the bath houses one may see a fine assortment of the 

 be-caned, be-chaired and be-crutched testing the virtues of the waters. 



On our return to Grand Haven we found the wind had hauled to the 

 north, and for a few hours the entire communitj^ was weepine. sneez- 

 ing and snuffling from the smoke from the forest fires raging between 

 the city and Muskegon. Fortunately, howevef-. the wind shifted later 

 in the evening and relieved us from what promised to be a most dis- 

 agreeable night. 



The following morning we headed toward Port Sherman, the harbor 

 connecting Lake Michigan and Muskegon Lake, and distance 13 miles 

 from Grand Haven, Muskegon being about six miles inland, on the 

 bank of the latter lake. We had but little breeze at starting and were 

 soon after becalmed, making three or four miles in so many hours. 

 We could see and hear the forest fires raging and roaring about half a 

 mile inland, but the beach being protected by the sand hills interven- 

 ing, we went ashore for luncheon, after which, still being without 

 wind, we got out a tow line and did the "mule act" for a couple of 

 miles, the Swallow towing almost as easily as a rowboat. 



A slight breex.e from the north setting in, we again set sail; but 

 could make little headway, so at i o'clock we decided to put up for 

 the night at Lake Harbor and proceed to Muskegon by the Lake 

 Harbor Suburban Eailway. 



We found Muskegon to be a prosperous and handsome city of 8,i- 

 000 or 40,000, well built and paved, and with all modern improvement. 

 Having friends here, invitations for luncheon, visits, etc., were plen- 

 teous; but our appearance after our ti-ip we felt to be so trampish 

 that we were compelled to decline in most instances. A rent in the 

 basement of the skipper's best trousers he decided was inconsistent 

 with a too extended social indulgence. 



During the night a heavy rain fell — the first for six weeks— and the 

 morning broke wet and cloudy, but we made for Lake Harbor on the 

 early train with the view of having the Swallow towed up -by the 

 aid of a small oil launch, which we had observed there. We found 

 the captain, but he represented that it would be a great inconven- 

 ience to get the launch out; he had not steamed her up this Season, 

 and she was doubtless out of order; he would have to get help to 

 take her over the bar at the harbor mouth; it would interfere with 

 his regular trip with his excursion boat up Mona Lake, etc , etc., at 

 which the sagacious skipper winked significantly at the^ attentive 



JF he is a friend of yours; if he is inter= 

 ested in yacht, boat or canoe; if he is not a 

 reader of FOREST AND STREAM; if you 

 'would like to have him see it for three 

 weeks ; and if you will give us his name, 

 we will supply him with one of the 



Forest and Stream's Silver Bullseye 



Cards, which will make it easy for him to 

 send for the paper. •••••• 



chef, which that functionary furtively returned, both wisely inferring 

 that a large fee would inevitably result from all these preliminary 

 objections. 



It was now 9 o'clock in the morning and pouring rain, so it was 

 decided to take the excursion trip around the lake with the captain 

 before determining whether the Swallow should be towed or sailed to 

 our destination. There was but one other passenger and the captain 

 comjilained oitterly of the lack of patronage this season, as did in 

 fact every re.sort keeper on the east shore. "Everybody spending 

 their money at the World's Pair," said he. "Some of 'em here leave 

 their butcher's and grocer's bills unpaid, but they're bound to go to 

 the Fair. Goin' mj^self, b'gosh, a little later on !" 



After sundry confidences and exchanges of Michigan Havanas with 

 the captain we ventured to question him as to his towing charges and 

 he replied: "Well, boys, if you can't possibly sail up I'll help you out, 

 but I'd much rather not if you can get along without me. You see it 

 is five miles to Port Sherman and five miles more to the steamer 

 dock, and there's the time lost coming back. Boys, I don't see how 

 I could make that tow for you under two dollars!" 



The chef, whose expridenoe is mainly with city prices, almost 

 fainted away, being prepared for a demand of at least five times that 

 sum. 



However, it was not found necessary to get out the launch, as the 

 clouds lifted somewhat and a fresh land breeze sprang up before our 

 return and we headed the Swallow for Port Sherman after a friendly 

 handshake with the honest captain. 



Arriving at Port Sherman it came on to rain heavily again and we 

 had a wet beat up Muskegon Lake, but finally arrived at the Goodrich 

 dock about noon, when we put the Swallow aboard the City of Racine 

 and arrived at Chicago without incident the following morning. 



Here the captain verv kindly dropped our craft for us into the river 

 and we coasted quietly past the World's Fair to South Chicago and 

 reached the club house about sunset, thus completing our coasting 

 trip of 175 milt-s without th*^ slightest mishap or inconvenience, and 

 so well pleased with our expci-ience that it is planned next season to 

 continue the trip from Muskegon to Macinac Island. 



The A. C. A. Meet of 1894. 



Amekti.no of the executive committee of the Atlantic Division, 

 American Canoe Association, was held at No. 860 Broadway. New 

 York, on Thursday. Nov. 23, Vice-Com. Schuyler calUng the meeting 

 to order at 5:4.'5 P. M. 



There were present, Vice-Com, Schuyler, Eear-Com. Fredericks and 

 Messrs, Lake and Hand, of the executive committee. 



Vice Cora. .Schuyler stated that the purpose of the meeting was to 

 detei-raice on the" site of the annnal meet of 1S')4, the selection of 

 whicli had been refei-red to the executive committee of the DivisioQ 

 by the general executive committee of the Association at the annual 

 meetiusr. 



Mr. Lake stated that he with several members of the committee had 

 visited Crotou Point and found that it would answer the wants uf the 

 Association in everj' respect; ttiat the proposed site had been thor- 

 oughly gone o\'. 1- and liad been found ample for the requiremonts of 

 the meet ; that Com. IJorland had consult -d the owner of the point, 

 Mr. Cockroft, and obtained permission to camp on the point, to thin 

 out tlie undergrowth of trees, and otherwise prepare the site tor the 

 meet. Mr. Lalte further stated that Mr. Cockroft had been very 

 obliging, and had promised to do all in his power to make the meet a 

 success, incluihng the use of a launch; and would furthei' agi-eo to 

 have the passenger propeller running fi'om Sing Sing to Ftockland and 

 Haverstraw, stop at the cunip twice a day Mr, Lake moved the 

 adoittion of tlroti.m Point as the site for the meet of ISUl. Rear-Oom, 

 Fredericks seconded the motion, and it was unanimously carried. 



On motion, duly seconded, the meeting adjourned. 



Jas. K. Hakd, Acting Secretary. 



CANOE NEWS NOTES. 



The annual meeting of the Eo3'al C. C. was held on Nov. and 

 though no i-ei'Oi'i has reached us of the proeeeduigs, it is quite prob- 

 able chau.tfes of tile most radica,! nature have been made in the tueas- 

 uremenL rules. The li, C. V. is an example of line olderuslnl con- 

 servatism, ami only Inst year it refused to recognize the .sliding scat, 

 while eliutfi-'ig ienaeiously la the useless and illo.i<ioa] qualiticatiou of 

 Clinker build ; bio: now there is a li!;,'!iliood that ir, has swung to the 

 other extreme, and rem.,'V ^ . i, ! ; . : : ir atious on the beam of 

 canoes, Tne elTeet . £ such -aid it he genera,lly adopted, 



would, in all probability be the lOxtJU canoe, -o far as 



saihn,tc is concerned, suhstitui.,.r- , n u -script type of small sailing 

 machine 



.Mrs. (iieo. L. Parmele wishes, through the Forest axd Stream, to 

 thank those members of the Eastern Division, and such other mem- 

 bers of the A. C A. as are in any way interested ; for the choice and 

 beautiful gift, which Ihey presented to her, through their representa- 

 tives, Messrs. Isriappe, Red, ami Banks on her birthday, Oct. aG, 1893. 



Summer Homes. 



A DEAurlFiTLiA- illustrated book; list of over 3,000 summer hotels 

 and boarding liouses in Catskill Mountains and central Xew York 

 Send six cents iu stamps to H. B. Jagoe, Gen'l Eastern Passenger 

 Agent, West Shore K, R,, '^0'3 Broadway, New York, or free upon 



applicatjoijj— -(i<*»'* 



In replying to the remarks of the Marine Jowrnal, we have been led 

 to a greater length than we at first intended; but the whole question 

 is so complicated that any attempt to discuss it in a few words would 

 inevitably lead us into the same hasty generalizations and incorrect 

 definitions on our side as are found in the explanation of our oppo- 

 nent. It would be a good thing if the question could be settled, once 

 for all, and still better if some new term could be found in place of 

 the clums.v expression "sloops, cutters and yawls," to distinguish 

 these various yachts in a general way, without regard to minor points 

 oE rig, centerboard, etc , just as too term "schooner" is applied to 

 every yaehr with a fore and mainmast, regardless of model and of 

 details of rig. The term "sloop" is no longer appUcable to singlestick 

 yaclits, and the term "cutter" is not popular with Americans, though 

 strictly correct. 



The Fobbst and Stream recalls with pride that it was one of the 

 first "cutter cranks," at the time when that term was considered by 

 its inventors an opprobrious epithet, when the man who dared to say- 

 that as good a yacht could be budtfrom a design on paper as from a 

 model whittled from a pine block was called a fool; when he who 

 advocated a higher standard of seamanship, Corinthian .sailing and 

 racing rules was called an Anglo-maniac dude, he who maintained the 

 value of lead ballast and a deep hull was compassionately set down as 

 merely crazy, and he who dared to say that the existing American 

 sloop did not represent the highest degree of perfection attained or 

 attainable, was a dangerous, mischievous and evil-disposed fellow. 

 Somehow or other we have lived through all of this opposition, we 

 have seen one after another- of the principles which we were the first 

 to advocate in print, the deeper hull, the cutter rig, the paper design, 

 the lead Keel, and dozens of others engrafted into American yachting; 

 with what result is seen in the fleet of to-day. 



We have also had occasion to notice whenever any p.\rticular feat- 

 ure, such as the lead keel, after first being abused, has been adopted ; 

 that the cry has invariably ijeen raised that it was either a new Ameri- 

 can invention, or that it had always been a part of the American 

 sloop; and it is by this process that the term "sloop" has by de- 

 grees been twisted from its original meaning at the beginning of the 

 controversy to include to-day everything fast enough to reflect credit 

 on its designers. 



In looking back, we find nothing to be ashamed of and little that we 

 would change ; tiinn lias brought an ample justification of the posi- 

 tion which we rook iu matters of desi^u. model and rig fifteen years 

 since. Many things which we once advocated as the best have been 

 superseded by later improvements ; but iu their day they were the 

 best, and superior to the equivalent features of the sloop. 



On one material point we were wrong, and we have ao hesitation in 



admitting it, in fact have done ao freely for some years. We made 

 the error of mistaking for a law of natm-e. H.ved and immutable, 

 what was onl5^ a very bad rule of a yacht club and of mistaking as 

 real the fictitious value of extreme narrow beam as shown in the 

 racing under that rule. We have no excuse to make for this error, 

 perhaps we should have known better ; but we have seen a similar 

 mistake made in later years, and with added opportunities for kno-s-1- 

 edge, by experienced yachtsmen, who have recognized as a law of 

 nature the misleading oonclusions derived from the rules which 

 restrict the length and enlarge the sail area of racing yachts. Are our 

 old opponents also ready to admit their mistakes in deriding the 

 yacht designer, the cutter rig, the lend keel and the flush-decked keel 

 yacht, or will they continue to build cutters and call them sloops, 

 forgetful of the volumes of printed controversy in which they have 

 put themselves and their typical rig and model on rBocjrd forever ? 



AVhile maintaining, as a mntter of technical truth, the cutter origin 

 of the modern Amerioiin ..^iML'Iesriek yacht, we h^ve no intention of 

 depreciating the worU of 3ir. Burgess and other American designers; 

 on the contrary, we consider them deserving of the highest praise for 

 having led the great body of yachtsmen against their will to some- 

 thing infinitely better than had been known before. The sloop men 

 died hard, they stood by their beloved craft until she figuratively 

 speaking capsized and sank under them; but after the victory of 

 Puritan gave them an opportunity to come down gracefully, and with 

 characteristic modesty to adopt the new type with the claim that they 

 had always believed in it and nothing else, they have vied with the 

 "cutter cranks" iu hm rj ing from one improvement to another. 



While the disnnctive features of yachting as it is carried on to-day, 

 including the science of designing and the art of construction,as well as 

 the model and rig, are aU of British origin ; there is hardly a detail in 

 any part of the work that has not been improved iu being adopted by 

 Americans. At the time when the sloop and cutter first came into 

 actual competition, the adherents of each ^ype were equally blinded 

 by conservatism, the American by his belief ui a length rule, in child- 

 ish theories of the increased resistance at greater depths and in the 

 necessity for very light draft; and the Englishman by his unquestion- 

 ing faith in the perfection of the old tonnage rule as a basis for racing 

 measurement. The American was the more fortunate in having his 

 beliefs rudely shattered at an early stage of the fight, and being 

 compelled, against his will, to reconstruct them on a sounder scientific 

 basis, while the English yachtsman continued for some years to race 

 the narrow cutter at home, and only awakened to the faults of the 

 type and of the rule which produced it when he tried to recapture the 

 America's Cup and was beaten by a wide American cutter. There is 

 BO much lor Americans to be proud of in the improvements made 

 since 16.S.J, auil lu the production of such racing craft as Volunteer, 

 Gos.soou, (Jloriaiia, Wasp and Vigilant, that it seems small and mean 

 to deny and misrepresent the true origin of all this advancement. 



Tub New York Serald is rapidly making a reputation as a comic 

 paper, and yachtsmen who tire of dry technical details will find much 

 to amuse them in its columns. The story of Navahoe's voyage was 

 funny enough, telling how Captaiu Carroll actually navigated her for 

 twenty miles by dead reckoning, but it was surpassed a few days later 

 by the graphic account of the sailing of Valiant. In this thrill ng 

 story it is told how Cajitaiu Vanderbilt before the "ropes were cast 

 Oil," was coinj. d.jv. ii stair.s" in Ills yacht when he fell and ac'ually 

 sprained his hautl. After damages were repaired, Captain Morrison 

 pulled a "rope" as seven bells were sounding, which happened to be 

 at half-past three o'clock, and the yacht .sailed away with the New 

 York Y. C. burgee Huttei iij ; i rem, the reporter olTering no 

 exp'anatiou as to where st r ensign. After all this it is 



not surprising to read a fe- i - : . i _r that the Ericson war vessel 

 Destroyer, which has been spousoued at the Erie Basin, has bad 

 "numerous stays put in along the outer side of the huh to give greater 

 buoyancy." The climax was reached this week, however, in an 

 editorial on the stability of warships in which the ineta-ceuter is de 

 fined as "the center of gravity of the volume of water the vessel dis- 

 places." In reading such nonsense one is led to think of the time 

 when the reports of Amerioaa yachting in the Herald were as full 

 and accurate as those of the weather in Paris und four-iu-hand-driving 

 in ECirpBe, 



