Vol, VIII. No. 86. 
IMPERIAL INSTITUTE JOURNAL. 
[February, 1902.] 
55 
already had a protracted trial in the Surly, torpedo-boat- 
destroyer, at Portsmouth. 
An official intimation was received at Devonport yesterday 
that the King and Queen will visit the port and attend the 
launch of the battleship Queen on March io ; also that Her 
Majesty has graciously consented to name the vessel. During 
their visit to the west their Majesties will lay the foundation 
stone of the Royal Naval Cadets’ College, Dartmouth, 
The London, battleship, has concluded a 30 hours’ coal 
consumption trial at one-fifth her power. She drew 26 ft. 3 ins. 
forward and 27 ft. aft, and had a steam pressure of 248 lb. in 
her boilers. The vacuum was 27 - 6 in. starboard and 27 3 in. 
port, and the revolutions were 65-68 starboard and 65 "26 port, 
produced by a collective i.h.p. of 3,237. The speed was 
ii£ knots, and the coal consumption i‘8r lb. per i.h.p. per hour. 
The Portsmouth Dockyard authorities have been directed 
to prepare estimates for fitting out the Active, cruiser, to relieve 
the Urgent, Captain D. Riddel, as receiving ship at Jamaica. 
The Active was last employed as Commodore ship of the 
Training Squadron, and when she had been dismantled for a 
refit the Training Squadron was abolished and the Cruiser 
Squadron substituted. 
The Amphitrite , cruiser, Captain W. Stokes Rees, C.B., at 
present employed on naval relief duties, is ordered to be com- 
missioned for service on the China station on her return to 
C hatham Dockyard with the paid-off crews of the Alacrity , 
despatch vessel, Commander Seymour E. Erskine, and the 
Snipe , shallow draught steamer, Lieut, and Commander Robert 
W. Dalgety. The Amphitrite will be manned by a new crew 
from the Medway depot. 
The Admiralty have issued to Clyde shipbuilders specifica- 
tions for two battleships, five armoured first-class cruisers, and 
two protected deck third-class cruisers. The battleships will be 
of 16,500 tons displacement, and the most powerfully armed in 
the world. The Admiralty ask that the tenders for the battle- 
ships be pushed forward, so that the contracts may be placed 
expeditiously. The third-class cruisers will have 3,000 tons 
displacement, so as to admit of greater gun power. 
The Fanlvme, sloop, has returned to Sheerness from a 
30 hours’ steam trial at 5-7ths of her full power, which proved 
successful. The following are the particulars of the trial : — 
Pressure of steam in boilers, 216 lb. ; ditto at engine, 209 lb. ; 
vacuum — starboard, 277 ins. ; port, 27'2 ins. ; revolutions — ■ 
starboard, 178-9; port, 175-6; i.h.p. — starboard, high, 158; 
intermediate, 170; low, 183; port, high, 165; intermediate, 
167; low, 177; total i h.p. , 1,020; speed, 12-5 knots; coal 
consumption, 1*54 lb. per i.h.p. per hour. The results were 
considered very satisfactory. She is fitted with engines made 
in Devonport Dockyard, and her boilers are of the Niclausse 
watertube type, supplied by Messrs. Humphrys, Tennant, 
and Co. 
At Whale Island, on the 10th ult. , a sample 2-in. plate 
manufactured by Messrs. Cammed and Co., of Sheffield, of the 
type used in gun shields and in continuation of the armour of 
battleships and armoured cruisers from the belt to the ram, was 
tested under the usual conditions. Three rounds were fired 
from a 6-pounder quick-firing gun, and each shot, which was 
fired at a velocity of 1,700 ft. seconds, splashed on the plate, 
but there was neither crack nor penetration. The plate was then 
subjected to a more severe test, one round being fired from a 
4 : in. quick-firing gun at a velocity of 1,650 ft. seconds. Again 
the shot splashed on the surface, causing neither crack nor 
penetration, but it set up a slight bulge, which indicated a satis- 
factory degree of elasticity. The whole of the armour of the 
battleship Queen is being manufactured by Messrs. Cammell 
and Co. 
The order for the laying down of the battleship King 
Edward VIP. at Portsmouth during the current financial year 
has been cancelled, and it is understood that the ship to be laid 
down at Devonport on the slip from which the Queen, battle- 
ship will shortly be launched will be named after His Majesty. 
A cruiser is to be laid down at Chatham, but no new ship will 
be begun at Portsmouth during the present financial year. 
With the work already in hand and the ships to be sent to 
Portsmouth from Pembroke and the private yards, there will be 
enough occupation for Portsmouth for quite another year. 
Meanwhile, the preliminary steps have been taken for erecting 
a new machinery factory in which all the work of the chief 
engineer of the Dockyard will be concentrated, but it is esti- 
mated that three years will elapse before the factory is in com- 
plete working order. The facilities of Portsmouth Dockyard 
are at the same time being improved by lengthening two docks 
which hitherto have been capable of accommodating ships up to 
400 ft. in length, but which after the alterations will be available 
for the docking of the new armoured cruisers of 500 ft. 
France. — The France Militaire states that the French 
Minister of Marine has decided that extensive alterations and 
repairs shall be carried out on the three cruisers Coctlogon, 
Troude, and For bin, which belong to the reserve, and are 
stationed, the first at Lorient and the two others at Rochefort. 
They were built at Bordeaux more than ten years ago, and 
have never been good for anything, only one of them, the 
J'roude, being fit to put out to sea. The alterations will in- 
clude the renewing of the boilers, the replacing of the wooden 
decks, and the modernizing of the artillery. It is expected 
that the alterations, which will be very expensive, will render 
the vessels seaworthy and of some value as warships. The 
battleship Requin has undergone extensive alterations at Cher- 
bourg, At her preliminary trial her engines developed 6,230-h.p. , 
against the 6,000-h.p. contracted for, and only 10 of her 12 
Niclausse boilers were used. The coal consumption was 
1 lb. 9-4 or., per h.p. The full power trials of the Requin have 
been successfully carried out. The boilers were subjected to a 
constant pressure of 13-i to 14 kilogrammes. The engines are 
of 6,250-h.p. , and the speed attained was 15-3 knots. The mean 
consumption of coal was 795 grammes per h.p. per hour. The 
engines worked very well. The cruiser Jean Bart, in reserve 
at Lorient, is to have her cylinder boilers replaced probably 
by Niclausse boilers, and an estimate is to be given for replacing 
her wooden decks by steel ones, as well as the bulkheads of her 
bunkers, which are in a very bad condition. In 1903 she is to 
be ready to relieve the Isly at Newfoundland, which will then 
return to undergo similar repairs and alterations. 
Holland. — The Dutch Government have decided to adopt 
Yarrow water-tube boilers in the latest battleship now build- 
ing, named the Hertog Hendrik, of 6,000 h.p. 
Italy. — The Italia Militare e Marina states that three 
new Italian battleships of the type of the Vittorio Emanuele 
will be commenced during the current financial year. Battle- 
ship “A” will take the place of the Benedetto Brin on the 
stocks at Castellamare ; “ B" that of the Regina Margherita 
at Spezia ; and “ C ” that of the Francesco Ferruccio at Venice. 
A total amount of only £68,000 has been assigned as a first 
instalment towards the expense of the three ships; while for 
the Vittorio Emanuele and the Regina Elena further instal- 
ments of £200,000 each have been assigned. The same paper 
further states that there are seven vessels building at Pola and 
Trieste for the Austrian Navy. These consist of three battle- 
ships, one cruiser, two river monitors, and a torpedo depot ship. 
One of the three battleships has been named Uot Bamberger, 
and is of the same type as the Habsburg and Arpad (length, 
354 ft. ; beam, 65 ft. 7 ins. ; speed, 18 knots). The two others 
are of a new type, with length 390 ft. 5 ins. ; beam, 72 ft. ; 
engines, 14,000-h.p. ; and speed, 19 knots. Each of the two 
will be armed with four 9-45-+., eight 7-48-^., six 5*9-in., four- 
teen 2 -75-111. , and sixteen machine guns ; also two torpedo tubes. 
This type of battleship will be the largest in the Austrian Navy. 
The cruiser will be nearly 384 ft. long, and have a speed of 
21 knots. 
United States. — It has been decided that the United States 
battleship Illinois shall become the flagshipof the United States 
squadron in European waters, 
MILITARY. 
Lieut. -General Sir H. Le G. Geary has selected Lieut. J. A. 
Geary, Royal Garrison Artillery, as aide-de-camp on his staff as 
Governor and Commander-in-Chief of Bermuda. 
*■ Colonel Sir T, j. Gallwey has been appointed Principal 
Medical Officer in India, and left England for Bombay on the 
29th ult. 
Major-General Wynne, who has been appointed to the 
command of a first-class district in India, is proceeding to 
England by the Briton. General Settle will succeed General 
Wynne in the command of the latter’s Cape Colony district. 
Capt. the Hon. W. P. Hore-Ruthven (Master of Rutliven), 
D.S.O., is to be appointed regimental adjutant of the Scots 
Guards, and Capt. F. L. Adam is to be adjutant of the 3rd 
Battalion of the regiment. 
Capt. M. D. Murray, Seaforth Highlanders, has been 
appointed aide-de-camp to Major-General R. B. Lane, C. B,, 
commanding the Infantry Brigade at Malta, and Captain 
A. R. Lemprierc, Lancashire Fusiliers, acting brigade major. 
The troops serving in the British East African Protectorates, 
including Uganda, British East Africa, and British Central 
Africa, will in future be known as the King's African Rifles. 
Brig. -General W. H. Manning is Inspector-General of this 
force. 
The prizes offered by the Secretary of State for War for 
the self-propelled lorry best adapted for military purposes have 
been awarded as follows : — The first prize, of £500, to the 
Thornyeroft Steam Wagon Company, Chiswick. The second 
prize, of £ 250, to Messrs. Edwin Foden and Company, Sandbaeh. 
The third prize, of £100, to the Straker Steam Vehicle Company, 
London and Bristol, The War Office have purchased the 
lorries to which the first and second prizes have been awarded 
for army use, and they will, in all probability, be at once 
despatched to Soutli Africa. 
At the last German army manoeuvres some comprehensive 
experiments were carried out in the use of mechanical traction. 
There were in use ten different motor-cars capable of carrying 
from three to six persons. These were all furnished with 
benzine motors and were employed in the conveyance of orders 
and intelligence between the different commanding officers and 
to the advance guards. According to the Archiv fur Post und 
Telegraphic the officers who conducted the experiments con- 
sidered that several of the vehicles proved themselves quite 
equal to the military requirements. Besides the motor-cars 
there were, among others, two Thornyeroft steam motor-trucks 
employed at the manoeuvres, and these gave much satisfaction 
in the work of supplying the troops from the magazines. The 
other motor-wagons for carrying loads were also driven by 
steam, but it was judged from the results that these would 
require considerable improvement before they could be accepted 
as suitable for practical military purposes. In the way of road 
traction engines, two of Fowler’s engines (Malta pattern) were 
employed. They each weighed six tons, including water and 
fuel, and each dragged three of the ordinary trucks heavily 
laden. As long as they were on the highroad everything went 
well, but difficulties arose when they turned on to the soft 
ground where the men bivouacked. Here the engine had first 
to go alone, and then, acting as a stationary engine, drag the 
trucks one by one over the ground by means of a wire rope. 
The Scott “tractor,” already largely in use by the French 
Government, did not stand the test so well. 

METRICAL WEIGHTS AND MEASURES. 
Tables for Converting Metrical Weights and 
Measures. 
Hec- 
tare. 
Acre. 
Kilo- 
metre, 
Eng. 
Mile. 
Square 
Kilo- 
metre, 
Eng. 
Mile 
0-405 
1 
2*471 
1 '609 
1 
0-621 
2*592 
1 
0-386 
0-809 
2 
4*942 
3*219 
2 
1*243 
5-184 
2 
0*772 
1*214 
3 
7 * 4*3 
4-828 
3 
1-864 
7*776 
3 
1-158 
1*619 
4 
9*885 
6-438 
4 
2*486 
10-368 
4 
i*544 
2’023 
5 
*2*356 
8*047 
5 
3*107 
12*960 
5 
1*930 
2-428 
6 
14-827 
9-656 
6 
3-728 
* 5*552 
6 
2*316 
2 ‘833 
7 
17-298 
11-265 
7 
4 * 35 ° 
iS'144 
7 
2*702 
3*237 
8 
19-769 
12-879 
8 
4-971 
20*736 
8 
3-088 
3-642 
9 
22*240 
14-484 
9 
5*592 
23-328 
9 
3*474 
4-047 
10 
24*711 
16-093 
10 
6-214 
25 >*Q 20 
10 
3-860 
8-093 
20 
49*423 
32-186 
20 
12-428 
51-840 
20 
7*720 
I2'X4Q 
30 
74**34 
48-279 
30 
18-641 
77-760 
30 
1 1 ‘5S0 
16-187 
40 
98-846 
64*373 
40 
24' 8 55 
103*680 
40 
* 5*440 
20*234 
50 
* 23*557 
80-466 
50 
31-069 
129-600 
50 
19-300 
24-286 
60 
148-268 
96*559 
60 
37*283 
* 55*520 
60 
23-160 
28-327 
70 
172-980 
112-652 
70 
43*497 
181*440 
70 
27*020 
32*373 
80 
197-692 
128-746 
80 
49 * 7*0 
207 -360 
80 
3o"8So 
36-420 
90 
222*003 
144-839 
90 
55*924 
233-280 
90 
34*740 
40-467 
100 
247 T 14 
160-932 
100 
62-138 
259*200 
100 
38 ‘ 6 oi 
MfcTRE. 
Yard. 
Kilo- 
gramme. 
Lb. 
Avoir. 
Litre. 
Gal- 
lon? . 
0 ‘ 9 I 4 
1 
1-094 
o '454 
1 
2*20 
4*54 
1 
0*22 
1-829 
2 
2-187 
0-907 
2 
4*4* 
9*09 
2 
0*44 
2*743 
3 
3*281 
1-361 
3 
6*6i 
13*63 
3 
o"66 
3-658 
4 
4*374 
x‘814 
4 
8-82 
18-17 
4 
o"88 
4*572 
5 
5-468 
2*268 
5 
11*02 
22*72 
5 
I'lO 
5-486 
6 
6-562 
2*722 
6 
*3*23 
27-26 
fi 
1*32 
6*401 
7 
7*655 
3**75 
7 
*5*43 
31*80 
7 
*'54 
7 * 3*5 
8 
8*749 
3*629 
8 
17-64 
36*35 
8 
1*76 
8-229 
9 
9'843 
4*082 
9 
19-84 
40-89 
9 
1*98 
9-144 
10 
1C936 
4*536 
10 
22'05 
45*43 
10 
2*20 
18-288 
20 
21-873 
9-072 
20 
44-09 
90-87 
20 
4 * 4 ° 
27*432 
30 
32-809 
13-608 
31 
66*14 
136*30 
30 
6"6o 
36*576 
40 
43*745 
18-144 
40 
88-18 
* 8**74 
40 
8- 80 
45 * 7*9 
50 
54*682 
22*079 
50 
110*23 ' 
227*17 
50 
11*00 
54*863 
to 
65-618 
27-2x5 
60 
I32-28 
272-61 
60 
* 3*20 
64*007 
70 
76 - 5 S 4 
3 i *752 
70 
* 54*32 
318-04 
70 
15-40 
73 ** 5 * 
80 
87-491 
36-288 
80 
176-37 
363 *4^ 
to 
17*60 
82-295 
90 
08-427 
40*823 
90 
198-42 
408-91 
90 
19-80 
9**438 
100 
109-363 
45*359 
100 
220*46 
454*35 
100 
22*01 
For the use of these tables the following explanation is 
necessary : — The figures in heavier type represent either of the 
columns beside it, as the case may be; vis., with hectares and 
acres in the first set of columns, 1 acre— O’ jog hectare, and vice 
versd, 1 hcciare=2'tfji acres, and so on. 
STATISTICAL NOTES. 
United Kingdom.— Trade in 1901.— The following tables, 
taken from the Board of Trade returns, show a summary state- 
of the foreign trade of the United Kingdom for the year igoi; 
as compared with 1900 : — 
Twelve Months ended 31ST December. 
I. — Imports fKom Foreign Countries and British 
Possessions. 
Twelve months ended 
31st December. 
+ Increase. 
— Decrease. 
1901. 
1900, 
I. Animals, living (for 
£ 
L 
£ 
food) 
9,400,033 
9,622,319 
■ — 222,286 
II. (a) Articles of food and 
drink, duty free 
162,949,666 
156,090,088 
+6,859,578 
(b) Articles of lood and 
drink, dutiable. 
47.595.501 
49.230,529 
—1,635,028 
Tobacco, dutiable . 
4.819.473 
4 - 799 , 4 r 7 
+20,056 
III. Metals 
30,787,452 
33 A 95 . 39 1 
—2,407,939 
IV. Chemicals, dyestuffs, 
and tanning sub- 
stances . 
6,129,559 
5 , 56 o ,793 
+568,766 
V. Oils .... 
11,030,606 
11,033,320 
—2,714 
VL Raw materials for 
textile manufactures 
79,401,772 
77 , 3 47,363 
+2,054,409 
VII. Raw materials for 
sundry industries and 
manufactures . 
57 . 954 > 5 10 
65,079.691 
—7,125,181 
VIII. Manufactured art- 
icles 
93.609,754 
93,225,005 
+384,749 
IX. (a) Miscellaneous 
articles . 
17,298,198 
16,771,621 
+526,577 
[b) Parcel post 
1,262,462 
1,119,626 
+142,836 
Total value . 
522,238,986 
523,075,163 
—836,177 
Note. — Sugar and other cognate articles became liable to duties 
on the 19th April, 1901, and are included in Section II. (b) of the above 
table. 
II, — Exports of British and Irish Produce and 
Manufacture. 
I. Animals, living 
£ 
742,499 
£ 
901,843 
£ 
-159,344 
11 . Articles of food and 
drink . 
14,884,915 
13.621,755 
+ 1,263,160 
III. Raw materials 
33.377.644 
41,879,009 
-8,501,365 
IV. Articles manufac- 
tured and partly 
manufactured, 
viz.:— 
(a) Yarns and textile 
fabrics . 
103,471,561 
102,212,400 
+ 1,259,161 
(b) Metals and articles 
manufactured there- 
from (except ma- 
chinery and ships) . 
39+13,762 
45.346,909 
-5,933.147 
(c) Machinery and 
mill work 
17.855.335 
19,619,784 
-1,764,449 
(d) Ships, new (not 
registered as British) 
9,159,876 
8,587,710 
+572,166 
(^) Apparel and articles 
of personal use 
10,940,060 
10,394,200 
+545,860 
(/) Chemicals and 
chemical and medi- 
cinal preparations , 
8,942,109 
9,262,519 
-320,410 
(g) All other articles, 
either manufactured 
or partly manufac- 
tured 
38,068,759 
36,414,067 
+1,654,692 
(A) Parcel post . 
3,642,369 
2,951,800 
+690,569 
Total value . 
280,498,889 
291,191,996 
-10,693,107 
III. — Exports of Foreign and Colonial Produce. 
£ 
£ 
4 
Total value . . 
67,846,843 
63,181,758 
+4,665,085 
Fertile Canada. — A correspondent sends us a few sample 
leaves of tobacco grown in the open air at Prince Albert, on the 
banks of the Saskatchewan river, in the North-West Territories 
of Canada. " Many people,” the sender says, “ are of opinion 
that this part of our Empire is cold, unproductive, and inhospit- 
able. I trust the accompanying evidence may afford some 
proof that such is not the case On November 1 violets were 
growing in profusion in our gardens here, and to-day, the 13th, 
we have beautiful sunshine and clear bracing air. Since last 
April there have been long sunshiny days, cool nights, generous 
rains, and, as a result of such providential beneficence, along 
with a remarkably productive soil and the industry of a com- 
paratively limited population, there are over 60 million bushels 
of wheat for export from the Canadian West this year. This 
land truly is destined to be the granary of the Empire. In the 
North-West Territories alone, consisting of Alberta, Assiniboia, 
and Saskatchewan, we have 300,000 square miles of land of 
unsurpassed fertility. A square mile contains 640 acres, so the 
above area contains about 192 millions of acres— an enormous 
agricultural section. I f a settler's taste is for ranching, he can 
go to the foothills of the Rocky Mountains in Alberta ; if wheat- 
growing, mixed farming, dairying, cattle-raising, etc., are more 
to his choice, then Eastern Assiniboia, Northern Alberta, and 
the great Saskatchewan valley are open to him. In Saskatche- 
wan alone there are over 100,000 square miles of splendid rich 
soil open for settlement. The new trans-continental railroad — 
the Canadian Northern — is being pushed through the Saskatche- 
wan valley on towards Alberta, the Rockies, and the Pacific 
Ocean. This will be a great thoroughfare, with connections 
affording communication from sea to sea, from Atlantic to the 
Pacific. Every settler can get 160 acres of land free, and thus 
becomes a landowner for himself. Prospective emigrants from 
the old land should look carefully into the prospects and 
capabilities of the Canadian North-West. Here is a land where 
every man of energy can make a home and lay up riches. He 
lives under the old flag, enjoys the liberty of British institutions, 
and the protection of British laws.” — Times. 
