New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1859-11-07
NAVAL ORNAMENTS.

The Paris correspondent of The London Morning
Herald says:
have had the opportunity of talking with a scientific
man Just returned from Toulon. At Touon there are
at the present moment less than % slips for build
ing ne-of-batle ships and heavy coryettes and every
one of those slips is occupied by the shell of vessel
at which the shpwrghts working from dawn until
twilight. Moreover, fifteen line-of-batle ships in
barbor en- commission de port fortnight would be
amply sufficient TO prepare them for sea- and tele-
graph from the Minister OF Marine III Paris would
provide them at day notice with numerous and we'll
trained crews. All these vessels mount rted guns. AT
anchor in the roadstead may be the ungany bulls
of the foatinf batteries each with tie full complement
of Goals men, guns, and pow These batteries may
not sail well; they may behave very badly IN sea-
way, but they are armed with % rned my -poundefS
and az they are invunerabe, cssed entirely with the
new iron plates, their fire in naval action would be
az deadly as that of a crack frlgate.
While on the subject of these floating batteries
allow me to point out terrible mistake which your
naval authorities have fallen into From sundry par
agraphs which have recently appeared in the London
papers it appears that the old floating batteries which
were built the time of the Crlmean war, have been
used as targets 10 test the Armstrong guns and the
shots having gone through the iron plates, it is given
out that the Armstrong gun renders iron plates
nugatory. This is a mistake that may cost US
very does when comes the tug Of war. II Is high
ly proAnss that the old iron plates that have been
rsing f the last FIVE years on the sides OF the Irusty
afford no resistance TO the conical shot; but the
plates which are used in the French service and which
have been exposed TO the tests during the last
FIVE years tell very different story. In the first
place these plates not iron, but an smalgam OF
iron steel and another substance, the nature or name
Of which have, notwithstanding the most strenuous
efforts been unable TO ascertain. But the composition
is much lighter than ron and enables the thickness OF
the plates 10 be immensely increased, while their
impenetrabilty TO shot, conical otherwise, has
been fully proved The experiments took place in this
fashion:
target was formed with great care, exactly as the
section of ships SIDE and covered with these new
plates. Ii was then for ak months fired at three
times week at various ranges, the maximum OF which
was q hundred, and the minimum twenty-five yards,
by unriied 90-pounders throwing round shot, and by
riied 5C-pounders throwing conical shot weigh
inc 100 pounds. One shot only IA conical one pene-
trated the plates; the head Of the ball lodged IN
the plate and the conclusion such that the remain
der Of the shot broke clean off if il had been shaved
by machinery II ia with these plates that the floating
batteries the gunboats and the steam rams, are now
protected and il is quite obvious whatever may be
the merits of the Armstrong gun that the shot from II
passing through the old plates by proves that
i would be 80 successful against the new description of
blndage.
Ny friend had also opportunity of seeing at lou
lon come Of the transports, Of which ~ are or
dered TO be built and of which some Is or 20 are al.
ready afoat. Independently of the crew, they are
built 10 carry GOO men. This sounds very ike ex-
derstand that such is not the when they hear that
these transports large as l2O-gun ship, and
that they mount no guns.