464 
FOREST AND STREAM 
[March 20, 1909. 
tarded as usual, and the engine turned over by 
a special crank furnished for this purpose. By 
this operation gas and air in the proper por- 
portions are drawn into the cylinders and there 
compressed, and at the end of the compression 
stroke the mixture is ignited. The engine im¬ 
mediately comes up to speed, and can be 
operated with the clutch in a neutral position, or 
ahead or astern, as desired. The suction stroke 
of the engine creates a vacuum in the gas main, 
which communicates with the producer, and 
serves to draw the proper proportion of air and 
ingredients through the fire of the producer to 
make the gas. 
The fuel commonly used is anthracite coal of 
pea or buckwheat size, although either charcoal 
or coke may also be used. During operating 
periods the fuel is charged into the gas pro¬ 
ducer, and the grate is agitated in order to 
shake down the ash at intervals of from one to 
two hours. After the boat is docked, or has 
been moored, and the engine is shut down, the 
purge valve is put into communication with 
the purge pipe, and the grate is again shaken, 
and the ashes, after being wet down, are re¬ 
moved from the ash-pit. The producer is then 
replenished with fuel, and the fire left in a stand¬ 
by condition for an indefinite period. After a 
24-hour shutdown, only ten or fifteen minutes 
blasting with the fan is necessary to bring the 
fire up to the proper gas-making temperature, 
when the customary cycle for starting can be 
carried out. 
The gas generated is uniform in character, 
and has such constituents that pre-i.gnitions are 
practically done away with. The temperatures 
obtained in the cylinders are not nearly so high 
as with gasolene, and the engine can be operated 
much easier than with gasolene. Variations in 
temperature and humidity do not affect the 
operations so much as with the latter fuel, but 
for successful operation on producer gas the 
engine must be fitted with large inlet and ex- 
hause valves and pipes. The Truscott motor used 
in this installation reouired no changes in this 
respect, inasmuch as the valves and piping sup¬ 
plied for gasolene as unusually generous in size, 
the only changes being in the nature of con¬ 
siderably higher compression than ordinarily 
met with on gasolene operation, the compres¬ 
sion in this instance being 150 pounds per 
square inch above atmospheric pressure. The 
initial maximum pressures are about 300 pounds 
per square inch immediately after ignition, and 
the mean effective pressure for the working 
stroke on the piston is about 70 pounds per 
square inch. 
About pounds of anthracite pea coal of 
good quality are consumed per horsepower per 
hour. The total weight of coal carried, there¬ 
fore, but slightly exceeds the weight of gaso¬ 
lene which would be ordinarily carried for such 
a plant operating on this fuel. The engine, 
complete with clutch, shaft, propeller and 
fittings, weighs 1,650 pounds. The gas-generat¬ 
ing plant, complete with producer, scrubber, fan, 
purge valve, pipe, fire tools and fittings, weighs 
1,000, a total of 2,650 pounds, or 76 pounds per 
horsepower. 
Referring editorially to this boat, the Interna¬ 
tional Marine Engineering says: 
“Ever since the first attempts were made to 
use producer gas for the propulsion of ships, 
widespread interest has been aroused in this 
form of motive power; but as this has taken 
the form of speculation rather than of investi¬ 
gation, only meagre data covering the per¬ 
formance of such installations has been avail¬ 
able. It is with a view of obtaining such data 
that Marenging has been built, and as soon as 
practicable an exhaustive series of tests will 
be made on the boat to determine the reliability 
and economy of a modern marine producer-gas 
plant. One result which might be looked for 
if these early installations prove successful in 
every way is the development of auxiliary sailing 
vessels as cargo carriers to compete with tramp 
steamers.” 
Canoeing. 
A Canoe Cruise on Chesapeake Bay. 
Concluded from page 42S. 
After crossing the Piankatank, I went in 
search of the entrance to Milford Haven—a 
strait communicating with the river, and giving 
the voyager landlocked water for several miles 
further south, where he can emerge on the bay 
again. Its entrance is hard to find; and for 
some distance I paddled along looking for it. 
and at the same time admiring a splendid sun¬ 
set. At length I passed a little sand-pit which 
marks the entrance of the Haven, and, turn¬ 
ing in, found myself in a beautiful little strait 
with deep water all around, and prosperous- 
looking houses scattered plentifully over the 
shores. Steamers from Baltimore stop here, 
the harbor is a perfect one, innumerable sail¬ 
boats make the Plaven their headcjuarters, and 
a general air of peace and prosperity is notice¬ 
able. Indeed, so thickly settled were the shores 
that it was hard to find a camp-site; and while 
I was looking for one, supper was served afloat. 
That is to say, the little tin box was opened, the 
water-can placed in a convenient nook, and 
a good meal enjoyed while the little Bunny 
floated on the peaceful waters of the Haven, 
and the sun disappeared in the west. Then, in 
the twilight, I paddled on looking for a place 
to pitch the tent. This was eventually found on 
the western shore; arrangements for the night 
were soon made, and I fell asleep. 
In the morning a strong breeze was found to 
be blowing on-shore; but of course the Haven 
sheltered me for the present. After breakfast 
the canoe was paddled down to the upper out¬ 
let. which is about a mile from the lower one; 
and upon landing on a sand-spit here I dis¬ 
turbed a little pig that had been sleeping on 
the sand. Piggy promptly proceeded to take to 
the water, much to my astonishment, and swam 
around in the breaking waves for a quarter of 
an hour or so. after which he landed, looked at 
me suspiciously, and swam off in the smoother 
water of the Haven. Aquatic pigs were a new 
thing to me, and I watched this little fellow 
with interest as long as he was in sight. 
A paddle of about twenty minutes brougl.it me 
to the lower outlet, where the canoe emerged 
on the bay, and the water was found to have 
become quite smooth again. At nooh lunch 
was eaten afloat, after which I landed on the 
beach opposite the Wolf Trap light to stretch 
my legs, close to a spot where an enormous 
horseshoe crab, recently deceased, had been 
cast up on the beach. 
In the middle of the afternoon Bunny 
rounded New Point Comfort light, which stands 
at the northern entrance of Mobjack Bay—the 
widest body of water that has to be crossed on 
the way to Old Point. I looked eagerly to 
the south to see what the southern shore looked 
like; but, alas! it was invisible. That is. the 
treetops could be seen; but from my seat at 
the water’s edge the land itself was out of sight. 
Further up the bay, however, the land appeared; 
and I knew that if necessary the canoe could 
be paddled up to the peninsula that makes out 
between North River and Ware River, and the 
bay crossed in two sections of a couple of miles 
each, instead of crossing where it is five or six 
miles wide But the afternoon was calm, and 
the breeze blew from the northeast, tending 
to drive the canoe into Mobjack Bay rather 
than out into the broad Chesapeake; so I 
started across. An old colored man working 
on a boat about a mile from shore talked 
pleasantly for a minute, and incidentally re¬ 
marked that he wouldn’t cross Mobjack Bay 
in “dat little boat for a hundred dollars—no, 
sah; not for a hunnerd dollars.” Doubtless he 
would have been surprised to find how much 
more manageable the little Bunny would have 
been in bad weather than his old tub. 
The crossing of Mobjack Bay took an hour 
and a half; and I landed on a marsh near the 
Severn RRer—but, oh, such a marsh! Not a 
damp, slimy, muddy, stagnant marsh; but a 
beautiful sandy flat, with a hard, shelving beach, 
and bushes growing intermittently over it, with 
fine white sand between. The breeze had in¬ 
creased as I crossed the bay, and now it was 
THE GENTLE SURF OF CHESAPEAKE BAY. 
THE WATER CARRIERS. 
