The Sun.
London, England, 1866-03-21 00:00:00

.the Trotting Matches at Paris.

There were recently some large assemblages of
the rank, fashion, and beauty of the gay city by
the Seine, to see the performance of two American
trotters at the Bois de Bologne. The horses in
question, Shepherd F. Knapp and Abdallah King,
were 'imported to England from this country, and
they appear to us to be now in the hands of men
not a bit too particular as to how they shall win
money. We heretofore gave an account of the first
race of the three, which was won with great ease
by Shepherd F. Knapp ; and in another part of this
paper we give reports from Bell's Life of the two-
mile and three-mile trots. A little consideration of
the two-mile trot, won by Abdallah King, after his
opponent being backed at 7 to 4 prior to the start,
and of the three-mile race, won by Knapp after the
other had been a strong favourite at the start, will
enable anybody to discover why these Englishmen
took their horses across the channel to trot races
in which there was no gate-money. It is as plain
as anything can well be that the second race was
thrown by Edwards, the driver of Shepherd F
Knapp, and we have no doubt the party from the
little island over in the mist won great sums on that
race and the one which followed. The chestnut
stallion could not have been beaten in 5 min 22 sec
if driven to win, and that Abdallah King could pull
a wagon and beat him in harness is unaccountable
upon any other supposition than that the parties
had " fixed things," and went in to do the French
and the fasbionables. In this they seem to have
perfectly succeeded. Knapp, when the favourite,
was beaten, and Abdallah, being a strong favourite
on the three-mile day, was beaten in turn. Bell's
reporter observes that on this last occasion, after
Abdallah had been a strong favourite, Knapp came
with a rush, in consequence of a report that he had
made a good trial, and the betting became even,
the Shepherd party being the most anxious " to
get on." We should say so ! They are then repre-
sented as trotting the first mile in 2 min 23 sec
which we venture to say is all humbug ; and after
giving the result, the reporter naively adds, " A
great deal of money changed hands." We should
think so—a great deal commonly does when there
is such a change of horses. Bell favours his readers
with further description and pedigrees of these horses.
The nonsense into which the paper has been led is
amusing, and its editor ought to take care in future
that no such preposterous stuff is admitted into its
columns. Weare first informed that Abdallah King
is by Old Abdallah, 13 years old, and has trotted
many matches against time in the States, his best
time having been a mile in 2 min 201 sec." Now,
whoever told this to the writer of the article ought
to have 20 lashes on his bare back. There is not a
word of truth in it. No such horse was got by Old
Abdallah ; there is no horse by Old Abdallah only
13 years old; no such horse ever trotted so many
matches against time in the States ; and no horse at
all ever trotted here in 2 min 204 sec. Thereis no
such time on the record. There is 2 min. 191 sec,
2 min 201 see, and 2 min 21 sec, but no 2 min 201
sec. We should like to see the lying scamps who
retail these falsehoods brought to grief—and when
an editor finds that his paper has been made use of
to circulate such romances, he ought to denounce
the author of them. In reference to Shepherd F.
Knapp, we are told he i; is by Scythian, winner of
the Chester Cup, who was renamed Eaton on his
arrival in America, out of Fanny Arabian (one of
the fastest trotting mares in the United States), by
imported Priam." Will the editor believe us when
we say that all this is lunatic nonsense, imposed
upon his reporter by
interested, ignorant, and men-
dacious parties. Shepherd F. Knapp is not by
Scythian—Seythian's name has not been changed
sire of Knapp, was a descen-
dant—the Eaton horse,
of imported Messenger, through Bush Mes-
senger, and was a trotting stallion—Shepherd F.
Knapp's dam was not a mare by imported Priam
her name was not Fanny Arabian, and there never
was a fast trotting mare of that name here. We
are next informed thit Knapp won a stallion's stake
at four years old, in a field of thirty. This old and
stupid lie we exposed on a former occasion, when

Knapp first trotted at Paris. He never was in a
stake when he was four
,years old ; the only trot he
made that year was with the filly Jessie. There
never was a stallion stake for trotters with a field
of thirty, and Shepherd F Knapp never trotted in
his life with more than one horse at a time. This
is the second time we have thoroughly exposed the
extravagant inventions told in England in regard
to this horse. We doubt whether it will do much
good ; for the asinine stupidity and obstinacy of
some people is almost impenetrable. The plain truth
is rejected because it comes from America; the most
ludicrous fables are believed, being told in England;
and meantime Edwards, Redpath, and Co. carry on
the game at Paris in such a way that " a great deal
of money changes hands."—Wilkes' Spirit of the
Times.

Yachts and Boats.

(From Land and Water.)

It is an acknowledged fact that modern naval
architecture in all its branches owes an immense
deal to yacht clubs, owners, and builders, for experi-
menting upon, and proving the best kinds of form to
be used for various classes of vessels for the many
purposes and trades of our merchant princes, in all
parts of the world ; and of all the modern principles
of designing and building vessels for speed and
elegance of form the wave line principle of Mr. Scott
Russell is that which has been productive of the
most remarakble results, and in America the fleetest
ships in the world have been built by Mr. Donald
Mackay, on the hollow line principle, where it is
considered the only right one to be followed, when
time is of consequence in conveying perishable car-
goes from point to point in a marketable condition.
Yachts can be made of any size, from three tons to
three hundred, so as to suit the means ©f most per-
sons ; they can be half-deckel, or decked from stem
to stern, and they may be clincher, carvel, dowel,
diagonal, composite, iron, or even copper built, the
former being the kind most generally adopted for
small class yachts, and even occasionally for large
ones ; the late Lord Willoughby D'Eresby having
built his famous lugger New Moon on this princi-
ple, and she has proved very strong and fast, espe-
cially when going free, with a fresh breeze. Clin-
cher building is done as follows : the keel,with stem
and sternpost firmly attached, is placed on a beam,
or:plank, set on edge;that has been planed to a true
surface, the stem and sternpost having been tried with
a plumb-line, and seen to be quite perpendicular ;
the moulds, as they are termed, or forms of the in-
tended vessels, are placed at certain distances and
fixed in their places by props from above, so as not
to impede the workmen or prevent free access to
every part of the vessel ; the garbord strake, or the
plank next the keel in then fixed and fitted in its
place, and plank after plank is nailed to one another,
the edge of the upper one overlapping that of the
under, and nailed firmly to it with copper nails ; af-
ter all the planks are fixed, the moulds are taken
out, and the mere skin of the vessel is left ; the nex
thing to be done is to strengthen this shell with ribs,
which are made in most cases of ash, which has been
cut to a small size and steamed in large boxes filled
with superheated steam, which process renders them
soft and pliable ; they are then pushed well into the
form of the vessel, and nailed to each plank with,
long powerful copper nails, which are riveted over a
small rough or disc of copper, placed over the point
of the nails, and driven home on the inside of the
vessel; when properly done this makes a very strong
and lasting scantling. Carvel building is that
generally adopted in constructing large vessels of all
kinds, and in which the form of the ship is first out-
lined by the ribs or timbers which are fastened to,
and spring from, the keel, and then are covered with
the planks placed edge to edge and bolted firmly to
the timbers with copper, iron, or wooden bolts,
which are called treenails ; the outside is then
dubbed quite smooth with the adze, and finished
with the plane, the interstices being filled in or
caulked with oakum, and then smeared with pitch
to prevent the entry of water ; this is an exceedingly
strong method of building, but is very heavy and.
takes up a good deal of room, from the substance
or mass of timber used in the ribs, planks, and ceil-
ing, or inner planking. Dowel is another very good
way of building small yachts, from its strength and
lightness; it is, I believe, an American invention.
The method adopted is as follows :—The keel, &c.,
having been prepared as if for clincher building,
the planks, from an inch to an inch and a half thick,
and rather narrow, are placed along outside the
mould, edge to edge, and long copper or galvan-
ized iron nails are driven down into the planks
in a slanting position, eaeh going in opposite direc-
tions, but long enough to reach two opposite planks
and into the third ; the ribs are then forced into
place and nailed as in clincher building. Revolving
keeled boots are usually built on this plan, and he
can answer for its excellence, as the vessel is usually
very buoyant, and so smooth as to offer little or no
resistance in going through the water ; good yellow
pine is the best material to build yachts of on this
principle. The diagonal principle is one that has
' made great progress of late years, from the planks
being placed diagonally to the line of the keel in-
side and outside the timbers, which from the great
strength obtained by this principle, are very greatly
reduced in size and weight, thus giving increased
accommodation and capacity for storing cargo ; the
planks slope in opposite directions, those on the in-
side may slope to the stern, where those on the out-
side will slope to the bow, the sterns are usually
round, so that the diagonals can be continued from
one end of the ship to the other. In the spaces be-
tween the ribs and the internal and external diago-
nals, blocks of wood and sand are fitted in with
marine glue, well up to the water line, serving both
to strengthen the frame and as ballast. Her Ma-
jesty's yacht, the Victoria and Albert, is built on
this principle, and is found to answer admirably,
being one of the strongest and fastest ships in the
world. Next to iron, diagonal is that mostly used
for the fast ships of our great steamship companies
and fast-sailing Australian and China clippers.
Composite ships are built of wood and iron con-
jointly, the keel being of wood, the frame, diagonal
braces and stringers being of iron, with wooden
planks and deck, the composite principle giving
enormous strength with great lightness and carrying
power. Hardly any but the fast sailing clippers are
built on this principle ; only the largest yachts being
so constructed.