The Sun.
London, England, 1840-06-23 00:00:00

At the suite time it must be admitted- (as we have
before stated) that the " paddle tsheei" mode of pro-
pulsion has many disadvantages is the opinion of me-
chanical and nautical men who have studied its opera-
tion. It is, however, to a certain extent, a sure mode.
and, though clumsy, is found—abundance ofsteatn-powcr
been supplied—to work well, particularly in smooth
water. It evidently, however, involves a great waste
of steam, much of the power required to maintain a
given speed being expended, not in propelling the
vessel, but in thrashing down and afterwards in lifting
up the water, in, to an inexperienced eye, a very trium-
phant—but certainly (we think) a very unprofitable
manner. We shall not attempt to define precisely the
average loss of steam thus occasioned ; but we will
venture to say that it amounts to nearly one-half of
that indicated in horses' power. It cannot reasonably
be supposed that any mode of propulsion or traction of
a vessel on so subtle an element as water, even in a
quiescent state, can give the same velocity that may
he acquired by steam agency on shore, where the
f. lerusn, or hold of the propelling medium is on terra
firma. The most that can be accomplished is to find
the best principle of action in water which mechanical
agency can supply, and which combines with speedy pro-
pulsion, strength, safety, and continuous application in all
weathers. No one will suppose that it would require
a traction anything like 460-horse power to drag the
Liverpool steam-ship, for instance, at a rate of ten or
elesen miles an hour, provided it could be, and were,
properly applied. We will venture to say that one-
third that power, exerted upon a cable to pull her along,
by a locomotive engine upon a bank, would bring her
to the highest possible navigable speed, if, indeed, it did
not (as the sailor would say) tear the bows out of
her." From this prcposition, and 'knowing too that
water presents a strong fulcrum (though not equal to
land) for the propulsion of bodies insinuatingly formed
pass through what may be called its superstratum, and
that the finny inhabitants of the deep swim through it
at great depths, where the resistance must be stronger,
by a mere twirl of the tail or a twitter of the fin ;
knowing this, we cannot shut out from our conviction
the impression that vast improvement in steam, and in-
ked in general navigation, may yet be achieved, and
that another century may produce novelties as wonder-
ful as those which have even at this early period of the
science astonished .the mechanical philosophers of the
day. It were futile to place limits on the inventive ad-
vancement of the human mind, and the simple fact that
the application of steam to ships is scarcely of twenty
years' standing, is almost enough to Warrant us in as- '
;tning that it is yet in its infancys.
With these opinions we hail every new mode of em-
ploying so mighty an agent which is attended with
practical success, though but to a certain extent, as
furnishing a new datum, at least, by which we may
proceed nearer to the point of perfection, if that can-
not be attained ; and of therefore advancing the ge-
neral welfare of mankind. We have no fear, more-
ever, that the general adoption of the present plan will
be so stubbornly adhered to as to present the introduc-
tion of others that promise obvious advantages. Truth,
in science as well as in morals, must ultimately prevail ;
and we feel assured that the practical demonstration of
the applicability of the water-screw to steam-vessels
supplied by the Archimedes, will soon lead to a fair and
unprejudiced trial of its efficacy on a more extended
scale, with such imprOvements as experience and new
There are several advantages of the screw principle ,
over the paddle-wheel which we have not before noticed,
and which we shall now briefly enumerate.
The water through which a vessel passes propelled
byahe screw is not torn up and undulated by its action,
to the endangerment of open boats, as in the commo-
tion frequently caused by paddle-wheels. One great
feature in the screw is, that it renders steam navigation
available in merchant ships on long voyages in times of
need, at a small expenditure of fuel. Making steam the
resort in such cases, sails being the general mode of
propulsion, an engine that would on this principle pro-
pel a vessel even at the rate of from three to fire miles
an heur, against a head wind, or in a dead calm, would
accomplish a great desideratum. Many a fine and
valuably-laden vessel from distant countries is delayed
in our channels by contrary winds, after a fine voyage,
for many days, to the great loss of the merchant ; for
there is no denying that " despatch is the soul of busi-
ness." 'We have an instar.ce on record within the last
six months of a fine ship, after a :run of fourteen or
fifteen days from New York to the south of Ire-
land, having been battered about in the Channel
for nearly as long a period, before she could
reach this her port of destination. The de-
tension of vessels in calms, and particularly in what
! are termed " the horse latitudes " is also well
known, and exceedingly costly and vexatious. In both
cases the screw engine, even on a small scale, would be
higlily beneficial. For a 'West India voyage we cannot
cenceive anything more applicable than that combina-
tion of " sail and screw" which this application admits.
If adverse winds prevail on starting amongst what are
called "variables," the use Of the screw in addition to the
sails, or per se it' requisite, and a speedy run south
to the latitude in which the trade winds prevail, would
inevitably ensure a short passage to any of the An-
tilles, without the further aid of steam. When the
trade wind was met with, studding-sails might be set
oelow and aloft, and the steam dispensed with.
One of the most striking features of Mr. Smith's ap-
plication of the Archimedean screw is its undeniable
simplicity. When a principle is simple, and to a great
extent effective, we may entertain greater hopes of
final perfectability (admitting that to be attainable)
then if it were hedged round with complication. From
simplicity we can proceed to additional mechanical
gains ; from complicacy, unless by a reversion to simpli-
city, every addition gives but increased friction and de-
Creased power.

The screw, whether applied as a medium of moderate
propulsion to a heavy vessel on emergencies, or in equal
combination with sails, requires no unwieldy erection on
the top sides of the ship, and may be applied in all
weathers. The vessel may be thrown by the lee by a
press of sail, and the propelling principle, being under
water, is unaffected. In the construction of the Archi.
'necks, it was some time before the' projectors could
make up their minds whether she should be modelled
and built more as a steam or a sailing vessel, or a corn.
bination, as nearly as possible, of both. They decided
upon the last distinction. She is a yacht as well as a
steamer. Had she been built with a lighter draft of
water, for steam only, or principally, as our ordinary
steam-boats, she would, no doubt, h.ve "steamed" with
greater speed. As it is, she has, as an experimental
vessel, done wonders.

We have seen some extracts from the log-book of the
Archimedes, while on six successive trips between Dover,
Calais, and Ostend, in April last. On most of these
occasions she beat H.M. packets Arid and Bearer, by
some minutes. On the 6th day, Captain Chappell,
R.N. (now with the vessel) and Mr. Lloyd, engineer,
from her Majesty's Dock-yard, Woolwich, commenced
the superintendence of the trials, by direction of the
Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty. In the voyage
across, the Widgeon beat the Archimedes in the first
trip, by 51 minutes. In returning, by 10 minutes, no
sail being set. The Widgeon is the fastest of the Dover
packets, is ten tons less than the Archimedes, has ten-
horse power more, is not so broad by five feet, and
draws 41 feet less water. In a subsequent trial, in a
dead calm, the Widgeon heat the Archimedes by only
31 minutes in going, and 4 in returning—the time occu-
pied being respectively 2 hours 9 minutes, and 2 hours
11 minutes. The Widgeon was, however, subsequently
beaten by the Archimedes, as appears from the following
extract from the log;--
" On the Ist of May, the Widgeon and Archimedes
started together for Calais, with a fresh breeze, both car-
rying sail and steaming. Archimedes performed the dis-
tance to Calais Roads in 2h. lm., beating Widgeon by
9 minutes. In returning to Dover, she beat the
Widgeon by 5 minutes, making the distance in 1h.53m.
—the fastest passage ever made' between France and
England by 14 minutes.'
The Archimedes has since been beaten in our river
by the Duchess of Lancaster, but so triflingly, and
under such comparative circumstances, that the fact is
noticed merely as a candid admission, but is of little or
no weight , as affecting the "principle" of the screw,
which is yet young in application on Mr. Smith's plan,
and may doubtless be rendered much more efficient.