The Madisonian. [volume] (Washington City [i.e. Washington, D.C.]) 1837-1845, 1838-08-15
(To be continued
Fran The National Gazette.
INQUIRIES ON EXPLosIoNS-No 4.


Investigations relative to steamboat explosions have
been Of Two kinds the referring to the proxnae,
aud the other the ol thUse disasters
| They have also been undertaken by very different
classes OF persons and according their respective
habits have these conducted the researches princi
PIES either Of legislative and Judicial inquiry, those
OF philosophical and chemical experiments In England
all inquiries this subject made by public authority,
have is believed, been Of the former kind in France
chiefly Of the latter In the United States, both have
been EMPLOYED To illustrate our meaning, let Us take
the case Of the steamboat ---.
Whist caused the boiler OF that boat 10 explode
The steam was too high. Too high for what--for
the ordinary working Of the engine No. Too high to
be retained by boiler Of red hot copper which in this
state becomes very weak What caused the copper to
be red hoti The presence Of fire in the absence Of
water. with means of showing tho true temperature
of either the copper. the water, the steam What
caused the absence of water Rapid evaporation and
deficient supply to replace them. How happened the
supply 10 be deficient The pump not soon
enough put in action after had been blown out to
clean the boiler Why was not the pump made TO sup
| ply in the first moment Of deficiency There
selacting apparatus show when that arrived,
and the engineer neglected to Try the gauge cocks,
What occasoned that neglect lie had gone TO call
the hremen TO = fire mp" because there steam
enough TO make the speed he wished What required
the hTemen 10 be absent from their posts They
looking out for instant aier examining their furnaces
I'LL they would hold another ounce OF fuel) TO
4
smoke as their own, and whether she likely to gain
i on them.
The proxrnae cause Of the catastrophe was here The
weakening Of the copper which the researches Of ex-
permental philosophers have shewn 10 be ia certain
proportion to the Of temperature such that al
1000 degrees Fahrenheit, and below red heat in day
light its strength is only third OF what il is at the
/ freezing point Of water The remote the
absurd and guilty practice Of steamboat racing The
facts Of which any Judicial tribunal may generally
AZ IN xyl fuk. Tho, atue
The first parliamentary investigation commenced
in England in 1917 and consisted OF examination
Of cerisn distinguished engineers, merhanicans, and
other praca men. TO the number Of twenty more, in
regard to their experience their opinions respecting
| the causes Of explosions in steam boilers.
| Experience in the matter then much too limited
10 enable them TO give information Of permanent value
and their opinions many points wide as,lnder
from each other. depending apparently much on The
habits predictions, and perhaps in small degree
| The interests Of the witnesses.
Al that PERIOD the high pressure engine, long before
invented and used BY Evans, this country, begin
ning to excite attention. especially the form in which
| il had been applied Ivy Woolf With view Of taking
advantage Of the crpansrpe action Of steam, together
with It's condensation and the partial thence
obtained. he had constructed engine With two cyn-
drrs working in connection the receiving the steam
from the boiler high tension, and deriving the bene
fit Of that tension throughout the length OF the move
ment the other receiving the steam from the first cy-
der. allowing il TO expand into a space many times
larger than before occupied, aud to act upon piston
Of much greater diameter than that which It first
tua,ed Tins latter cylinder connected with
dcnser that the f advantage taken Of the plan
OF Boulon and Wait, together with that Of Evans !;
and OF the Mr. D. Taylor, testified that
il had proved Ia Cornwall. sufficient than
half The fuel rrs- ~-.~aaed,ho daty of all
engines the old construction beng equa! 10 Me
ing of only ticeHfy miii0Hs of poands, JOH hgh
hy HE consumption Of bushei Of coal. while Woof's
raises from lury- forty five millions OF pounds
! TO the same height by the consumton OF fuel.
| Another witness. Mr. Donkn. testified that eighteen
bushels Of wheat had been ground by Woolfs engine
| with bushef Of COAL while not than ten
twelve could I've ground by Watts. IL is not wonder
iu that under these circumstances leading inquiry
should have been the relative safety Of high aud low
pressure engines Much crudeness Of opinion, how
ever existed the SUBJECT and the most contradictory
statements were delivered Even the advantage Of the
high pressure engine IN point OF economy, was denied
by Of the parties examined. II Is hardly neces-
remark that this question has been put be-
| yond all doubt, in England hv the Cornish engines
which now raise 90. 100, and even l2s millions Of
pounds one foot by the bushel Of Goals in France by
the phy sico- Investigations Of Combes and
! Others and in the United States by the efficiency Of
those steamboats, which the high pressure expanding
| condensing engines employed.
We cannot refrain from abiding to one or two cir
cunstaBces stated by Mr. Seth Hunt, the Ariel" Of
/ more recent times who examined in 1915 by the
Parliamentary committee. He testified that boats went
from New York Albary in twentyone hours, and re-
turned in nineteen, in less. lie said that boats
had gone nine, ten, and eleven miles per hour under
particular circumstance We refer to these things
| as matters Of his0rp The reporter Of the testimony
has made Mr. Hunt speak Of ST. Semsti as one Of the
cities the Ohio. We may suppose that he said or
meant TO say, Cincinnati. What say the Buckeyes,
/ have they such SAM in the calendar!