The Sun.
London, England, 1857-12-07 00:00:00

TILE ADRIATIC STEAMSHIP.

The United States'mail steamship Adriatic, Capt.
West, arrived off Point Lynas at 9 p.m on Thurs-
day, after a run of ten days four hours, from New
York, having loft that port at noon on the 23d ult.
Had she proceeded to Liverpool direct the passage
between the two ports would have been made in 10
days eight hours, mean time, but Capt. West, pro-
bably in consequence of a strong gale from the
westward, deemed it prudent to lay to during the
night, and did not get under way till nearly high
water of the next flood tide. We have not received
any official particulars of the trip, but we under-
stand that the Adriatic's performances during the
voyage were considered by all on board to be highly
satisfactory. It is reported that the supply of coal
fell short. We wk re told by a passenger that the
highest rate of speed in 24 hours was 330 miles,
and that occasionally she logged 15 knots per hour.
In taking the passage at ten days eight hours some
allowance must be made for this her first trip, for
there is no doubt that when her machinery is in
good working order she will improve in her rate
of speed. It may not be out of place to state that
the first passage of the Persia from New York to
the Liverpool bar occupied 10 days seven hours ;
but this was made in Feb., 1856, the worst season
of the year, and on that occi,sion she made a con-
siderable detour southward to avoid the ice. Her
quickest run eastward was made in eight days 23
hours, to the Bell-buoy.
On Friday morning intelligence was received that
Cie Adriatic was outside, and a steam-tender was
despatched for the mails, which were landed at 11
o'clock. In the meantime, not withstandiag the
remarkable increase of late years in the size of
ocean steamers, crowds of people assembled on the
piers and landing-stages to witness the arrival in
the Money of the long-looked-for steamer. It was
not till 2 o'clock, amid a crowd of outward-bound
shipping, that the Adriatic was seen off the Rock
Lighthouse, and, as the weather was fine, a good
opportunity was thus afforded for vie wing the stately
vessel as she steamed against a four-knot ebb tide
to her moorings. She appeared to be under easy
steam, going at the rate of nine knots per hour, and
ye', so keen and fine are her lines, there was scarcely
a ripple perciptible at the cutwater, while aft there
was an entire absence of that turmoil of waters
which die inguishes the "sea-bruisers," the pet
models of the old school of naval architecture, in
their laboursome progress at sea. On approaching
the Sloyne the Adriatic displayed the English en-
sign and saluted the Cunard steamers Canada and
Persia, a compliment which was promptly returned
by these fine vessels, each of which had the United
States' ensign at the fore.
Viewed from the piers, the Adriatic appeared to
us less graceful on the water than the Persia, and
differs but little from the other steamers belonging
to the Collins line, having the same upright stem
and nea ly rounded stern. She has twu light masts,
with topsail yards on the foremast, and two lofty
funnels, placed fora and aft, slightly raked.
The Adriatic was constructed in New York by
the late Mr. Geo. Steers, who also built the United
States' screw-frigate Niagara, and was launched on
the 7th of April, 1856. Her extraordinary delay
iti that poit was caused by frequent alterations in
her machinery. According to the American mea-
surement she is of 5,900 tons capacity ; hut if mea-
sured in accordance with the English standard we
presume this calculation would be considerably re-
duced. The length of the Adriatic over all is
354 2-3 feet, while that of the Persia is 390 feet.
The breadth of beam of the former is 50 feet, being
five feet more than that of the latter. The depth
of hold of the Adriatic is 33 1-6 feet, and that of
the Persia 32 feet. The tonnage of the latter is
given at 3,600 tons, with side lever engines of two
cylinders of 100 inchec diameter each, and 10 feet
stroke of piston. The machinery of the Adriatic
consists of two of the largest oscillating engines
that have evsr been constructed, which were manu-
factured at the Now York Novelty Works. They
have two cylinders, each 100 inches in diameter,
with 12 feet stroke of piston, and are of the tech-
nical horse-power of 1,500, but they are considered
in reality equal to 2,800 horse power. The dia-
meter of the paddlewheels of the Adriatic and the
Persia is the same—namely, 40 feet. The Adriatic
is c nsiderably larger than the other American
steamer, being 700 tons more than the screw frigate
Niagara, 800 tons more than the Vanderbil-, and
2,000 tons more than the Atlantic. She is altos
gether a splendid specimen of naval architecture,
and will doubtless prone to be by far the fastest
vessel ever construc'el within the United States
The total cost is estimated at little short of a quar-
ter of a million 5-ening.

-
The Ace; York Times, speaking of the departure
of the Ad riatie, says :--` The departure of the steam
ship Adriatic on her first voyage across the At-
lantic, is an event in our current history entitled
to a special notice. It does not, indeed, mark the
commencement of a new era in navigation, as the
first trip of the Clermont up the Hudson or the
first passage of the Sirius across the Atlantic did,
but it marks an epoch in the history of steam navi-
gation. The Adriatic is hot only the largest steam-
ship afloat, but the largest vessel of any kind that
has been launched, as she is believed to be the best
in all respects. She is, therefore, at the present
time the champion of the seas, and is likely to con-
tinue so until the Leviathan shall be launched and
afloat. Then we shall, of course, assign the ocean
belt to Great Britain, but until then we may be
allowed to claim the d stinction of having sent to
sea the largest and finest vessel that ewer clove the
waves of the baisterous Atlantic. The Adriatic's
engines are the largest in the world. There are
eight principal boilers, each with furnaces ranged
side by side, se that the whole nunaleer of fur-
naces is 48. Besides these there are two extra
boilers, to be used when desired. The vessel will
carry, for the supply if her boilers during a single
pas:age across the Atlantic, from 1,200 to 1,500 tons
of coal. She is supplied with patent condensers,
the cold water running through 12,000 circulating
copper pipes, condensing the steam in its course,
saving, as it s said, nearly 75,000 dollars per an-
num in fuel and wear and tear when the ship is
i
running. The piston rods are 15 inches in diame-
ter, of solid wrought iron. The furnaces require
from 50 firemen and coal-passers, and no less than
six engineers will be required to attend the engines.
The wheels are each 40 feet in diameter and 12 feet
face, and have a dip of from eight to nine feet.
What the Adriatic may accomplish retrains to be
proved, and, as we shall soon know the results of
her first voyage, it will bo idle to boast of her speed
and safety now ; but we know her beauty of model,
the unequalled elegance of her interior arrange-
ments for passengers, the superiority of her dimen-
sions over any other vessel afloat, and the grace
her
and lovelinras of lines she sits upon
the water ; we know, too, what her elfin in-
anc • s were en her trial trip,
as ,
and we may confi-
dently anticipate,
setting aside the accidents
which all ships artist encounter, that she will fully
justify all that her admirers have
to any other vessel tied has been in
In all her cabin arrangements she is greatly sum for
predicted of her.
our harbour,
and not only has everytbino, been done to add to
the comfort and even luxurious enjoyment of the
passengers at sea, but everything that will tend to
secure their safety and prevent the occasion of acci-
arran arrangements, the calcium
dents. She is abundantly supplied with lifeboats,
among other new gemen
light, which she carries at her foretopinast head,
awill not only be a security against a collision nth
another vessel, hut, by enabling the look-out to
discover objects at a distance of three or four milts
in the dark, will greatly lessen the chances of acci-
dents at night. She has accommodations for about
400 passengers, 300 of them being first-clss
188 men, is divided as
follows :-1 commaaider, 4 mates, 1 surgeon,. 1
8 . Her
working force, numbering
purser, 1 quarterinasttrJ, 2 carpguters, 1 boatsboatswain,:3t; seanlen, 1 engive,r, 3 a,s,idtants, 6 superinten-