Vol. VIII. No. 87. 
IMPERIAL INSTITUTE JOURNAL. 
[March, 1902.] 83 
of the Director of Naval Ordnance, from the 25th ult., in suc- 
cession to the Storekeeper-General of Naval Ordnance, Colonel 
Sir Thales Pease, K.C.B. 
In order to maintain the efficiency of torpedo-boat de- 
stroyers the Admiralty have pointed out to local naval authorities 
the necessity of leaving a nucleus of the engine-room staff in 
each vessel when the crews are changed. Such nucleus should 
consist of an engineer officer, one engine-room artificer, and 
two chief or leading stokers. 
The armoured cruiser which is to be built at Chatham is to 
be named Devonshire. She will have a length of 450 ft., a 
breadth of 67 ft., and a displac ment of 10,200 tons. The new 
vessel will be the longest that has ever been built at Chatham. 
She is to be constructed 011 the slip which is at present occupied 
by the Prince of Wales, battleship. 
The second-class cruiser Doris, late flagship at the Cape, 
whose ship's company took a prominent part in the early part 
of the South African campaign with the Naval Brigade, will 
shortly be commissioned at Devonport for a further term of 
service on the same station. The Doris will relieve the cruiser 
Gibraltar. 
The Thistle, gunboat, was commissioned by Lieut, and 
Commander E. S. Houseman at Devonport, on the 18th ult., to 
relieve the Buzzard, sloop, Commander L. F. G. Tippinge, on 
the North America and West Indies Station. The Thistle ar- 
rived at Devonport in 1899, but this is her first commission. 
She was built for river service. 
Admiral Sir John Fisher, Commandcr-in-Chief of the 
Mediterranean Squadron, has been appointed Second Naval 
Lord at the Admiralty in the room of Admiral Douglas, who is 
to be appointed to the North America Station. Admiral Sir 
Compton Domvile will succeed Sir J. Fisher in the chief com- 
mand in the Mediterranean. 
Experiments in wireless telegraph)'' have taken place 
between the Admiralty station at Dover at a point known as 
Spion Kop, near Shakespeare Cliff, and a cruiser steaming 
down the Channel. By the use of a special mechanism, which is 
stated to be a new invention and was tried for the first time, 
messages were successfully transmitted to a distance of about 
40 miles further than had previously been obtained. The object 
of the authorities is to have wireless communication from Dover 
with Portsmouth on the west and Sheerness on the east. 
Experiments have been conducted with regard to coaling 
ships at sea, while under way, between the battleship Trafalgar 
and the specially fitted collier Muriel. In th - trials which have 
recently been concluded, the Trafalgar, while towing the 
Muriel at the rate of ten knots, managed to ship an average of 
30 tons of coal per hour. While steaming at a slower speedt he 
amount of coal transported from the Muriel to the Trafalgar 
wrs 40 tons per hour. This performance is eminently satisfac- 
tory, considering that the system is almost in its initial stage. 
The largest floating-dock in the world was launched on the 
8th ult., at Wallseud-on-Tyne by Messrs. Swan and Hunter for 
the Admiralty, to supersede the old floating-dock at Bermuda 
placed in 1869, which is now obsolete. The new dock will 
accommodate for repairs the largest battleships and cruisers up 
to 17,500 tons. The launch was very successful. The rocky 
nature of the island of Bermuda made a floating-dock more 
suitable than a graving-dock of the ordinary kind. The dock 
will be towed to Chatham, thence to Bermuda. It is 545 ft. 
long and 100 ft. wide. It has been built specially strong in 
view of its passage across the Atlantic. 
The second of the flotilla of submarine boats building by 
Messrs. Vickers, .Sons, and Maxim, Limited, at Barrow, was 
launched on the 21st ult. The new boat is about 60 feet long, the 
dimensions being similar to those of the experimental boat now 
undergoing her "trials. It has been found necessary, however, 
that certain alterations should be made in its construction, ren- 
dered advisable by defects which have been discovered during 
the testing of No. 1 boat. It is expected that three of the 
remainder of the flotilla will be ready for launching within a 
very short time, and the sixth, which is of a new type, may be 
completed in time to take part in the Coronation Naval Review. 
The London, battleship, which left Portsmouth oil the 3rd 
ult., for her 30 hours’ trial at four-fifths power, returned at the 
end of a 26 hours' run and reported that the trial was satis- 
factory, but that it had to be curtailed because thick weather 
set in. As the results of these trials are calculated on the mean 
of the best consecutive 24 hours rather than upon the complete 
run of 30 hours, sufficiently good averages were obtained to 
allow the trial to be accepted as successful. The ship drew 
26 ft. 3 ins, forward and 27 ft. 3 ins. aft, and had 262 lb. of 
steam in her boilers. The vacuum, starboard and port, was 
26 ins., and the revolutions were 101*4 starboard and 100*7 
port, produced by a mean i.h.p. of 11,718. There was no air 
pressure, and the speed by patent log was 16*4 knots on a coal 
consumption of i*8 lb. per unit of power per hour. The 
London was brought into Portsmouth Plarbour on the 13th ult., 
in order that she may be completed for sea. She has successfully 
undergone her machinery, torpedo, and gun trials, and is to be 
ready for commission by the end of April. The London will 
eventually relieve the Majestic as senior flagship of the Channel 
Squadron. She is expected to fly the Prince of Wales’s flag 
as Admiral of England at the Coronation Review in June 
next. 
Italy. — On the island of San Paolo, near Taranto, an 
armoured tower has been constructed by the Italian Govern- 
ment which has a weight of 5.000 tons, and has cost ^480,000. 
It is armed with two hydro-pneumatic guns having a length of 
42*65 ft. and a range of rather more than n miles. 
Russia. — The work at the Russian Admiralty yards at 
Sevastopol and Nikolaieff is being pushed on with undiminished 
vigour. The latest addition to the battleship strength of the 
Black Sea fleet, the Potemkin Tavritchesky , is having her armour 
plates fixed in place. The work on two new cruisers and two 
sea-going torpedo-boats at Sevastopol and Nikolaieff is also well 
advanced. The Novoe Vremya states that the Russian 
Admiralty has ordered that during the present year the four 
new deep sea torpedo-boat-destroyers Pavlin, Pkazan, Lebod, 
and Pelikan shall be transferred from the Baltic to the Black 
Sea fleet. An extraordinary vote of £1, 650,000 will be made 
shortly for the purpose of building new warships for the Russian 
Navy during the present year. The Marine Technical Com- 
mittee is already engaged in deciding upon the type of the 
projected vessels, not one of which is to be built abroad. The 
transport vessel OUan, which was built recently at Kiel for the 
Russian Navy, is to be set apart specially for training assistant- 
engineers for the Navy. 
MILITARY. 
Major W. A. C. Denny, Army Service Corps, has been 
appointed D'.A.A.G. at Hong Kong. 
Captain Duncan, D.S.O., ist Royal Scots, has been 
appointed Brigade Major of the Infantry Brigade at Malta. 
Captain R. V. Id. Alpin, 6th Battalion Lancashire Fusi- 
liers, has been appointed Aide-de-Camp to Sir Cornelius 
Moloney, K.C.M.G., Governor of Trinidad. 
Lieut. -Colonel T. D. Foster, Army Service Corps, lately 
serving in South Africa, has been appointed Deputy-Assistant 
Adjutant-General for Supply Inspection from the ist prox. , 
succeeding Major C. W. King. 
Colonel W. S. Clarke, formerly commanding the 2nd 
Worcestershire Regiment, has been appointed to succeed 
Colonel De Berniere in command of the 29th Regimental 
District. 
Brevet Lieut. -Colon el Lempriere ha c been appointed second 
in command of the 2nd Middlesex Regiment, vice Major 
Barnardiston, appointed Military Attache in Holland and 
Belgium. 
Colonel Scott, R.A., who has of late been employed at the 
India Office, has been appointed Director-General of Ordnance 
in India, in succession to Major-General R. Wace, C.B. , ap- 
pointed Ordnance Consulting Officer in London, 
The War Office has notified that the South African medal 
is" to be granted only to the militia units who volunteered for 
service abroad during the South African war, and whose services 
were accepted. 
Brigadier-General Sir Hector MacDonald, D.S.O. , now 
in command of a second-class district at Belgaum, Madras, has 
been appointed to succeed Major-General F. T. Hobson in 
command of the forces in Ceylon. 
Official notification of the change in the composition of 
cordite has been made to contractors who supply the Govern- 
ment with ammunition, The charges with the improved cordite 
for the various service weapons will be as follows : — 47-in. quick- 
firing gun, 5 lb. 7 oz. ; 12-pr. quick-firing gun, 1 lb. 10 oz. ; 
6-pr,, 7f oz. ; 3-pr., 6| oz. ; and the *303 service rifles, 
30 grains. 
The present type of ambulance waggon in use in the army- 
does not appear to be altogether satisfactory, and the War 
Office are desirous of obtaining a new model. They are there- 
fore offering two prizes — one of £500 and the other of ^250 
— for the two best models sent in. Any British subject may 
compete, and the entry list will be closed on March 15. The 
waggons, however, need not arrive at the Woolwich Arsenal 
before the middle of July. There are certain qualifications 
which the waggons will be expected to possess. They must, 
of course, be light, strong, and capable of running smoothly 
over rough roads. In the matter of accommodation they must 
have room for four patients lying down, or twelve sitting, one 
hospital orderl)', and a driver. 
Navy Estimates for 1902-3. — The amount of the navy 
estimates for the year 1902-3 is ^31,255,000 ; besides the con- 
struction of new ships, there is a plan of modernisation of the 
armament of many of the older armoured and protected vessels 
at present with the fleet. The aggregate expenditure is an in- 
crease over last year (including supplementary vote) of 7779,500. 
New construction takes up ^9,058,000, and embraces : 2 battle- 
ships, 2 armoured cruisers, 2 third-class cruisers, 4 “ scouts," 
9 destroyers, 4 torpedo boats, 4 submarines — total, 27 of all 
types. Twenty-five ships are to be " improved.” Eight battle- 
ships of the Royal Sovereign class are to have secondary' bat- 
teries on upper deck (comprising six 6-in. quickfirers each) 
placed in armoured casemates. Battleships Barfleur and 
Centurion are each to have their ten 4*7 guns, firing a 50 lb. 
shell, replaced by' 6-in. quickfirers, firing a 100 lb. shell. 
Cruisers Powerful and Terrible are each to have four more 6-in. 
quickfirers in casemates added, increasing the total number of 
these weapons to sixteen. Thirteen cruisers of the Arrogant 
and Talbot classes are each to have six 6-in. quickfirers in place 
of 4*7 in. weapons. Between April ist, 1901, and March 31, 
1902, inclusive, the following ships will have been completed 
and passed into the Fleet Reserve : — Battleships : Formidable, 
Implacable, Irresistible, Bulzoark, Vengeance. Armoured 
cruisers : Aboukir, Crcssy, Llogue, Sutlej. First-class cruiser 
(protected) : Spartiate. Third-class cruiser (protected) : Pandora. 
Royal yacht : Victoria and Albert. Sloops : Mutine , Rinaldo, 
Esp 'dgle, Pantome. River steamers : Teal and Moorhen. 
22 destroyers, 4 torpedo-boats, 5 submarines. A new class 
altogether is to be created in the " Scouts,” which are to be 
destroyers of “ greater sea-keeping power.” Seamen through- 
out the fleet are to have a new dietary. 

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 I 3 
4*828 
3 
1*864 
7*776 
3 
1*158 
1*619 
4 
9*885 
6*438 
4 
2*486 
10*368 
4 
1*544 
2*023 
5 
12*356 
8*047 
5 
3*107 
12*960 
5 
1 *930 
3*428 
6 
14*827 
9*656 
6 
3*728 
15*552 
6 
2*316 
2*833 
7 
17*298 
11*265 
7 
4*350 
18*144 
7 
2*702 
3" 2 37 
8 
19*769 
12*879 
8 
4*971 
20*736 
8 
3*oSS 
3*642 
9 
22’240 
14*484 
9 
5*592 
23*328 
9 
3*474 
4*047 
10 
2 4 7 ir 
16*093 
10 
6*214 
25*920 
10 
3*S6q 
8*093 
20' 
49*423 
32*186 
20 
12*428 
51*840 
20 
7*720 
12*140 
30 
74 ‘134 
48*279 
30 
18*641 
77*760 
30 
11*580 
16*187 
40 
98*846 
64 * 37.3 
40 
24 'S 55 
103*680 
40 
15.440 
20*234 
50 
123*557 
80*466 
50 
31*069 
129*600 
50 
19*300 
24*286 
60 
148*268 
96*559 
60 
37*283 
155*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 * 71 ° 
207*360 
80 
30*880 
36*420 
90 
222*903 
144*839 
90 
55'924 
233*280 
90 
34*740 
40*467 
100 
247*114 
160*932 
100 
62*138 
259*200 
100 
38*601 
MiVtre, 
Yard. 
Kilo- 
gramme. 
Lb. 
Avoir. 
Litre. 
Gal- 
lons. 
0*914 
1 
1*094 
o '454 
1 
2*20 
4*54 
1 
0*22 
1*829 
2 
2*187 
0’9C>7 
2 
4*41 
9*09 
2 
9*44 
2*743 
3 
3*281 
1*361 
3 
6'6i 
13*63 
3 
o*66 
3*658 
4 
4*374 
1*814 
4 
8*82 
18*17 
4 
o*88 
4 * 57 2 
B 
5*468 
2*268 
5 
11*02 
22*72 
5 
I*IO 
5*486 
6 
6*562 
2*722 
6 
! 3‘ 2 3 
27*26 
fi 
1*32 
6*401 
7 
7*655 
3 *i 7 S 
7 
ij '43 
31*80 
7 
1*54 
7*315 
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 
10*936 
4*536 
10 
22*05 
45*43 
10 
2*20 
18*288 
20 
21*873 
0’O72 
20 
44*09 
90*87 
20 
4*40 
27'432 
30 
32*809 
13*608 
30 
66*14 
136*30 
30 
6 ‘60 
36‘570 
40 
43*745 
18*144 
40 
88*i8 
181*74 
40 
8*8o 
45*719 
50 
54*682 
22*679 
50 
110*23 
227*17 
50 
11*00 
54*863 
to 
65*618 
27*215 
60 
132*28 
272*61 
60 
13*20 
64*007 
70 
76*554 
3 i ‘752 
70 
154*32 
318*04 
70 
15*40 
73*151 
80 
87*491 
36*288 
80 
176*37 
3 63 i * 
80 
17*60 
82*295 
90 
08*427 
40*823 
90 
198*42 
408 91 
90 
lg’80 
91*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 ?nay be; vis., with hectares and 
acres in the first set of columns, 1 acrc—og.og hectare, and vice 
vend, 1 hectare— 2'^ r acres , and so on. 
STATISTICAL NOTES. 
Ceylon. — Tea Exports, 1901. — The following table, taken 
from Gow, Wilson and Stanton’s report, shows the distribution 
of tea exports from Ceylon, from ist January to end of Decem- 
ber, during the four years, 1898-1901 : — 
Countries, 
1901. 
1900. 
1S99. 
1898. 
United King- 
dom . . 
105,734.570 
113,760,193 
103,948,124 
96 ,i 33<833 
Austria . . 
50, 95 s 
2 4,633 
8,231 
14,873 
Belgium . . 
17,781 
22 ,954 
14,424 
13,590 
France , . 
317,866 
326, 800 
98,952 
xoo.ooi 
Germany 
586,104 
402,717 
346,959 
352,252 
Holland . . 
19.041 
2,000 
30,211 
26,351 
Italy . . . 
13.924 
8 .332 
13,521 
6,730 
Russia , . 
9,653,896 
8,917,185 
3 , 949,740 
2,714,003 
Spain . . , 
250 
17,730 
18,700 
44,650 
Sweden . . 
65,104 
71,300 
78,088 
42,471 
Turkey . . 
40,978 
47,009 
18,733 
73.974 
India . . . 
X.I 39 AI 3 
20,652,804 
1,144,013 
17,606,912 
567,616 
1 , 091,559 
Australia. 
15,606,833 
15,126,891 
America . . 
4,502,131 
3,980,680 
3,080,002 
2,180,188 
Africa . . . 
305.730 
280,699 
288,239 
372,242 
China . , 
2,694,819 
1,262,463 
1,384,490 
1,185,445 
Singapore , 
147,560 
H 9, I 78 
83,813 
59, 8 67 
Mauritius 
55,376 
17,323 
100,248 
33> 2 99 
Malta . , 
312,633 
419,518 
257,232 
196,852 
Total lb. 
H 6 , 3 IO > 638 
M 8 , 43 r > 639 
129,894,156 
119,769,071 
Natal. — TRx\de in 1901. — The following table showing the 
values of the imports into and the exports from Natal, and the 
Customs revenue of the Colony for the year ended 31st December 
last, as compared with the preceding year, is based on official 
figures published monthly in the Natal Gazette : — 
1900. 
1901. 
£ 
£ 
Imports 
5,911,518 
9,822,686 
Exports — 
Colonial .... 
571,346 
1,205,973 
3,062,844 
Non-Colonial , 
563,976 
Total exports .... 
1,135,323 
4,268,817 
Customs revenue , , , 
655,042 
812,375 
Note. — The figures for 1901 are approximate only. 
Included in the non-colonial exports is raw gold to the value 
of ,£1,150 in 1900, and ^764,993 in 1901. 
The imports as shown in the above table include the value 
of goods imported over berg (i.e. overland from the Transvaal, 
Orange River Colony, and other places), as well as those 
imported by sea. 
Sweden. — Iron Industry. — The following table shows 
the quantities of the various kinds of iron, etc., exported from 
Sweden dining the year 1901, as compared with the preceding 
year 
Exports of Iron, etc. 
1900, 
1901. 
Pig-iron .... 
Tons. 
84,500 
Tons. 
84,600 
Scrap-iron .... 
— 
8,100 
Ingots ..... 
9,000 
5.900 
Bloom-iron and rough bars . 
21,900 
18,200 
Bar-iron 
164,200 
142,100 
Bar ends .... 
5,100 
3,200 
Iron wire in coils . 
5 , 5 oo 
4,400 
Sheet-iron .... 
2,500 
1,500 
Tubes and parts of tubes 
— 
6,000 
Drawn w ire .... 
1,000 
900 
Nails ..... 
2,700 
3,000 
Total . , 
f 
296,400 
277,900 
The following table shows the production of iron in each of 
the years 1900 and .1901 : — 
Production of Iron. 

1900. 
1901. 
Tons. 
Tons. 
Pig-iron 
520,600 
513,30° 
Bloom-iron 
189,500 
164,700 
Bessemer ingots .... 
91,500 
77,300 
Siemens Martin ingots . 
200,400 
181,100 
British Fuel Exports. — In spite of the influence of the 
coal tax, the total quantity of coals and coke sent out of 
the Tyne last year was above that of the preceding year. 
The exact shipments were from the River Tyne in 1901, 
14,933,635 tons of coal and coke; in 1900, the quantity' was 
14,520,929 tons. There was thus an increase of 412,706, w hich 
is a substantial increase. The total includes fuel exported, fuel 
seut coastwise, and fuel shipped for the use of the steamers 
themselves. It is noteworthy that the coals sent out of the river 
increased by more than 518,000 tons, but there was a decrease 
in the coke exports of over 105.000 tons, so that the net increase 
was that above stated. The shipment of coals and coke is now 
one of the greatest of the industries of the North, and it is satis- 
factory from that point of view to find that there was, in a year 
of trial to the trade, the very large increase on the figures of the 
preceding year, though the shipment has been one that has 
been at a lower value on the average . — Newcastle Chronicle. 
62.-3*/ 4-7 
