The New York herald., 1863-10-17


- NsnxEDArs Dnnn.
esday mo9nbg was herslded IN with sti1 bres,s
w however, wDby no means unpleasant, and a
SIX O'Clock the America got under weigh for New YORK
poding fsndsr sdisa TO Dixie. Az the dsv adv..c>e
ns breeze eshened up and nothing Of special intsrea
OCCURRED ussi dinner nms. complmsntary reeolu,ou
TO Mr. Roberts, thanking him for his hospitality ana
signed BY all the passengers, had been previously prs
pared By Colonel Howe and few other gentleman ana
as soon IS he cloth vas removed Judge Robssoa resA
the resolution and INDUCED In few happy remarks IN
reference 10 the hoss of she eccascn who unable
owing TO disposou " bs present at the dinner table
Speeches thsn made BY Judges Monel Moucriee
Birdseye, Mr. Il. N. Dickerson General Dwight uo,oua
Howe and others, oil complimentary Mr. Robcrn Tor
his princey magnanmity during the trip.
Toasts and sentiments followed In rapid sucoession
amongst which was the following by Mr. Dckersou,
which created good deal Of hlari,y:-
Why Is . lady like man-ofwarS Because her riegina
Is worth more than her hull But why are tho ladies
here dfereat from war; Because their huls are
worth moro than the rigging He would therefore give
them the health Of the ladies present.
Drunk with loud cheers and laughter
At night we had another ball n the saloon, and between
dancing singing, &C.. passed time until sighted
Sandy Hook yesterday morning. with fond recolcctions d
homo crowding upon We arrived st the foot Of Was.
rem street precsey At twelve O'Clock. salung the Rss
turn and took leave Of each other with many regrets Ma
the trip had not beea much further prolonged
Summary oy rRr.
From tho time the America left New York until she
reached Fortress Monroe she worked sperdidy. Hss
machinery free and easy and her sailing steady she
made ON an average eleven and hall knots hour and
tons Of coal on board Which sucsnt for
days trip On her homeward passage there an evk
dent improvement In her sailing and competent engnce
pAnln Mod hnn A-ot C1~a al RA~-
tress Monroe from this city In twenty hours and
did the homo trip in a little svsr twenty four.
DESCRIPTION u AMERICA
Ine steamship America Is a vessel two hundred and
eghtyve feet long by thirty nine wide and twenty three
deep measuring about two thousand tons register and
s Tilted up In elegant style for the California trade Her
engine s OF tho ordinary beam engine variety seventy
inch diameter Of cylinder twelve feet stroke, having
wheel OF thirty six feet diameter with two plain due
boilers having hundred and sixty square feet srats
surface and about four thousand FIVE hundred feet of
sequeny limited IN combustion to about sixteen ROUNDS
OF coal to each foot OF CRATE surface which SAID
TO be the most coal capable of being consumed wthoSs
Tho engine differs from the ordinary bean engine 10 The
arrangement Of valves for the purpose high
rate OF expansion OF steam and in the OF Tghtnaa
refrigerator for cooling the water for condensation there
by keeping tho boilers at all times supplied with fresh
water and thus saving the loss Of heat incident throw
ing of the deposits OF salt resulting from the
water which s usually estimated OF fifteen per cent Of
The trip employed to test the merits Of the ma
chnery for producing steam expansion and OF the dscs
iaratcr and ms extended TO Norfolk ample opportunity
was gwen TO try all the necessary experiments fns
ship had been coaled for her voyage California; with
about seven hundred tons Of COAL and deep in the
water ana her performance therefore under circum
stances the most adverse possible to ths ship.
Tho machinery under the charge or Mr. Dckerson,
known an nest advocate for wor king steam
expansvcy and who therefore carried out his theory
The fullest extent The steam cut OF 10 the cylinder
points varying from one third to one firth or the stroke
OF tho engine, at n times carrying uniform pressure
OF thirty pounds, and the coal burned weighed
used. BY the indicator the power OF the engine
ul0l lanVad frcO1 , estpne
meat might be made Of the cost of horse power In eo
The average power developed was nine hundred and
eight hundred and fifty pounds, aud the average cesy
burned thousand Ave hundred and thirty pounds
an nour or ton and six Of pound Of coal an hon,
rate OF knot for sixty revolutions Of the wheel and The
average rotation was about clcvcn and haif
The experiments with the dccaaraer made ny ap
plying the Thermometer 70 the water subjected to It's
ration and the result that the heat impaired to The
injected water by the steam 10 the act OF coudensaio
thoroughly carried off by the external salt
that there only five degrees OF difference between
the temperature Of the sea aud that OF the fresh water
within the instrument the shown sixty two ars
the fresh water sixty degrees OF Fahrenheit
The vacuum maintained in the engine was at all tmes
twenty vc inches OF mercury and the witer In the boil
ere was at all times fresh that every condition
sary for keeping boilers free from salt is practically
brought into the presence Of steam they escape the DE-
sruction which Is fatal surface condensers generally
and which results from the fact that the tbermo electric
produced Whenever tubes SUBJ ccted
TO the action Of steam and cold water.
list or HkR 0FfltERs
The following list of tho principal officers OF the
steamer. all of whom are well fitted Tor their positions
Captain, Thomas Morton First Oaccr, Charles Morton
Second 0cer, u. q. Stetson; Chief Engineer A. n. Co
vart, late Of the HattcrAs; Steward, - Doran.
PRINCIPAL rSGERs.
Amongst the passengers aboard were Mrs. GenerA
Ranks. Brigadier General Dwight Marshall o. Roberts,
Esq and family; Judges III ton, Moncsie yoneil, Birds
eye ana Robertson; Commissioner Morton, Edwin Cros-
well and LADY Mr. Hodge, OF the Treasury Department al
Washington; Mr.. Broadhead W. F. s. Gregory, OF Jersey
CITY; Colonel Frank T. Howe and lady; Dr. j. p. Kluge.
Surgeon Of the Panama Rail Dad Company, &C, DO