The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1894-12-23

will make the voyage in two or three
| days.
| Mr.. Haig who Is the senior partner OF
| a London firm. has devoted much vi ni1
| leisure 10 the study OF steam Hdtisa
ton. and has now prepared pans With
demonstrate the practicabinty OF uriEInt
a vessel through the ocean at tue Ia'e
OF sixty miles an hour.
Alr. Haig says that the fisk OF crossing
the Atlantic in a well-built, well-planned
steamer at The rate Of sixty niles an
hour is considerably less than the FISK
run by the Flying Dutchman or the Fly
ing Scotchman-fast Englsh uans-day
after day. AS TO the enormous expense
of obtaining a high speed at sea- ne thinks
IL Is because shipowners have rigidly ad-
hered TO the use Of the screw propeller
placed only at The stern OF tne SNIP Dy
which the propelling surface mas OF ne
cessity been made very much smaller
than the resisting surface, ana therefore
much too small. even in fine calm wealth
er. while there has been no reserve 10
overcome head winds and the action OF
the waves
By the plan Mr.. HaiS proposes, says the
New York Herald. he contends the pro-
pellinS surface can be enormously IN
creased, so that it would greatly exceed
the submerged cross section or the SNIP
ana consequently there would be a large
reserve Of pr polling power 10 overcome
the intermttng Instructions OF the waves
and violent head winds.
II two steam cylinders. turning two
iron wheels on an iron railway track,
can propel railway train sixty or sew
cnty miles an hour by the grip Of those
wheels upon the iron rails why may not
a suitable number of paddle wheels,
planned TO grip the water properly ana
placed in a position where the rolling OF
the ship and rise and fall of the
waves have almost no effect on them
propel a steamship across the ocean AT
similar speed?
Undoubtedly the ship must be very
strongly planned and well put together
and her upper deck covered IN. Inc
wheels must be strong. the machinery
strong, and the engines enormously pow
erful.
II a steamer can be propelled at sixty
miles an hour. which the fastest Atlantic
liners only go tVeuty-four miles 3n
hour IL is clear that two Of the siNty-miic
steamers. which need De no larger than
the present Atlantic liners. will 30 as
much work AS five OF the present twenty
four-milc steamers. Therefore, one SIN
ty-mile steamer may cost two aud one
half times as much as one t"ru-
ty-four-milc steamer. and yet the charge
for interest and profit on capital would
be no greater.
Except iu the item Of coal. coal trim
mers. firCmCu and rugiuemDu. every work
ing expense would boz reduced from five
down TO two, assuming the ships 70 be
Of the same tonnage.
The two express steamers, for pas
seneers and light freight Will Of course.
burn more coal than the five slow steam
crs. Against the expenditure OF coal
there would be a saving or three-iitths
i'm food. and tho fare would probably hr
higher. The siXty-miles-an-hour steamer
viii therefore, pay.
Mr.. Haig SAYS. - shall. no doubt SUR
prise many shlpowners when ] suggest
that shlphunders give up the screw pro-
pellnr and return 10 tho lou--Cisedrded
pd4'lle wheel but then % will be- made I'm
a different form. and put I'm a very dit
ferent position. Heretofore 10 one over
thought of utilizing more than two paddle
wheels to propel yssel at sea. The
larger the vessel the larger the wheels
and those wheels were put I'm the worst
possibl pOsiuon-that t.. outside the ship.
one on each side. at the brOadcst part
and just dipping into the water a. tho
very spot where the rolling Of the vessel
was sure 10 immerse the padles too
deep AZ one moment, and 10 leave them
a few seconds after with almost mo- grip
Of the water, while If there was "a head
sea on every passing wave did the same.
Why no more than two wheels, ono
ON each side were used / cannot COM
Coivc. unless 10 Was thought. ms many
scientific men stil think. that the wheel
makes current in the water. and that
one wheel behind another would be use
lcss. That however is an utter fallacy
If a wheel makes r current then each
separate paddle makes its own separate
current.
"No paddlc-vheel steamer ever had
more than two paddle wheels. one on
each side. But have no such hallucina-
ton about one paddle wheel interfering
with the action of another wheel behind
Il any more than six ores on each side
OF a rowing boat interfere with each
other
Therefore, my plan is 20 put n great
number of paddle wheels, one behind the
other. in TIE very centre of the ships
length and breadth. I'm a fore and aft
line. making them work into a water
channel between the stem and stern OF
the ship. Just above tn ships bottom
The upper part OF each wheel-dhOut two
thrds-wOrks in an Right casing, which
is kept flied with compressed air al such
a pressure as will prevent the water
rising in the paddle box higher than tho
point fixed on as best FOR the effective
working Of tho wheels. The effective
portion Of the wheel about Cne-third Of
the periphery or circumference, works IN
water in the fore and aft Channe! named
above. which e. open" ~ each end, but
closed tn OH the sides and bottom. go
that the wheels are working i'm perfectly
suH water, and in that portion Of the
ship where rolling ard pitching affect
them the least
The paddles Of Ny. Haigs wheels are
the nattencd ends of levers which. when
in the water. press their perpendicular
side against the water using it as full
crum. u is proposed that shin be pro-
PEELED by sixteen wheels. all alike and
made of cast steel. annellcd. II these
wheels are driven az 40 revolutions per
minute. the ship mast 20 forward at
the rate Of sixty miles an hour or one
mile per minte.
She Had Enough Of Them.