Phillipsburg herald. [volume] (Phillipsburg, Kan.) 1882-1905, 1884-11-15
Barnaclea

barnacles OF from the bottom Of = big
iron steamer, said an emplOye Of the
Pacific Mail Company to 3 reporter Of
the Chronicle recently. ''YOu wouldn't
think it, but it's one Of the biggest
items Of expense in the repairs Of these
steamers continued he. ''It's an
operation that every ships bottom goes
through after every third trip across
the Pacific, and you know that the lit
tie creatures which give as so much
trouble are thicker and attain their
growth more rapidly in Pacific Wstars
than they do in the Atlantic"
The reporter and his informant were
in the vicinity of Hunters Point dry
dock. and on entering the yard the
CITY of New 7 Ork was seen high and
dry on the supports, and a large mum
Der Of men, each with angular-sh6psd
scraper of hard metal in hand, were
working on her. These scrapers had
handles attached to the center and
were ground on each of their three
edges. The sound of the scraping re-
sembles that produced by masOns'
trowels in spreading mortar, though
much louder, and there was also q
hacking and cutting noise occasionally,
as some more obstinate bunch Of barna-
cles chung with greater tenacity than
a
slaughter of these parasitic animals,
which in some spots incrusted the bot
tom Of the ship TO the depth of an inch
and g half to two inches.
They are only small cIingerss these
barnacleS, s" said the Pacific Mail man.
'sbut like feas on a nervous individual,
they are very much In the way, though
they are little. u
ITO what extent do they damage the
bottom of an iron ship?" asked the re-
porter.
cit ism t for the damage to the ship
80 much as the way they impede its
progress that they are complained OF, -
was the reply.
GLOW much time each day Of sailing
would this steamer lose by having
coating of barnacles on her bottomP,'
From fifteen to twenty-five miles. "
edo they not grow thicker on wooden
bottom vessels than on irOn?"
eyes; but they are not so thick on
copper bottoms, and that is one of the
chief objects in having vessels copper
bOttomed The barnacles do not like
the poisonous nature Of the copper and
do not begin to cling to it until it has
been partly neutralized by the action Of
the salt water. Iron ships can not, of
course, have copper bottoms, as the ex-
pense would be too great in making q
solid bottom of copper, and there IS no
satisfactory way OF attaching the
sheeting. To partly ObViate the tend
.ency of barnGcles TO collect on iron
vessels strong solution of verdigris is
now mixed with other ingredients and
used on the Bottom below the red water
line, and for this reason all the lower
outside surface Of the steamers of this
aNrrva oh
as you now see they are putting on the
underside Of the New YOrk's stem"
The reporter watched the process of
scraping and observed that as fast as q
large circle of the barnacle covered
surface was cleaned and the red iron
rust was made visible underneath, 1t
was washed clean by another set of men.
who were followed by the painters with
pots of steaming mixture from furnaces
along the ships side. Over each Of
these furnaces was tank filed with
a green LIQUID that dubbed and Missed
and sent forth an OdOr which one could
not but consider poisonous from the
nature Of the compound whence 1t
Issues.
How long does It take for a gang OF
EaOrkmen like this to remove the barn
aeles from a shipP'' asked the reporter.
put on as many men as can work con
veniently on a vessels bottom. You
see the idea is to save expense. 1t costs
a vessel from $500 to 81, 200 a day, aC-
cOrding to her tonnage, to lie on
this dock, and the men who do the
work on this steamer are furnished by
the Mail Company, and are instructed
50 push the job as fast as possible It
would cost the company as much dock
age each day if only two men were en-
DlOyed in cleaning 8 bottom as it would
If there were 100 at work"
''DOes the green mixture that they
are now applying act as preventive
against the accumulation Of the barna-
olesP''
''Only in measure. 4 requires
but few months for the salt water to
dissolve it and eat into the iron and
form rough, rusty places, where the lit
tie cingers gather and grow. They
spread very fast, and to a Considerable
depth when a vessel is lying still for
an extended period. but often on the
trip to China and returning q vast
number win spread themselves ali over
= steamers bottom. 1t is sometimes 3
/ mystery how they collect so easily FgAea
. vessel is in motion"
'sAre there not other and effsctual
| means for preventing their prGsenCeP''
There may be, - was the reply, ''but
| they have not yet been discovered. A
thousand different preparations have
/ been tried, but none Of them are of
much account If we accept the verdi
/ girls compound, and that Is far from
/ satisfactory. AfOT6ane awaits the lucky
man who can discover a comparatively
/ inexpensive and At the same time dura-
| BE mixture which, when applied TO q
/ ships bottom, viii render it 50 distaste-
/ Gul place of residence to these barna-
/ cles that they viii no longer infest it -
/ -Suls francisco C7lrOBicLe.
Why. In sea-bathing, is the water
/ warm when the wind is from the sea