The San Francisco call., 1898-03-21

Electricity is being introduced in the Russian navy for raising ammunition. loading and working guns on board ships.
 Of the 25O torpedo-boats which the naval programme establishes for the French navy, 175 will be afoat during the present year.
 The British battle-ship Illustrious has passed through her full power trial of eight hours under natural draught, and developed 10,241 horsepower, an excess of 241 horsepower over the contract.
 It is reported that the Japanese have by this time laid a number of torpedoes off the Pescadore Islands, near Formosa. The work was to be done under the su- perintendence of Captain Yasuda of the Japanese navy.
 The British torpedo boat destroyer Vio- let passed through her coal consumption trials last month. Steaming at the rate of 13 knots she used one ton of coal to make distance of 30 knots. As the boat carries S4 tons of coal, this supply should enable her to make 2520 knots at speed of 13 knots per hour.
 Experiments have been made at Kiel by German naval officers with contri- vance regulating the movements of tor pedoes discharged from a ship. It is claimed that absolute accuracy of aim a ScnWarCZkOn pedo up to distance of 43OO feet, or over four-fifths of mile.
 The Woodlark, one of the latest built light draught turbine twin screw gum boats for service in Egypt has had successful trial. The boat is 145 feet in length and A feet beam, and was to draw not over 24 inches with a load of 30 tons, at which her speed was to be 15 statute miles. At her acceptance trial with the stipulated load the boat drew 231b inches and made 3024 miles in two hours. The hull is plated with bullet-proof steel plating. and the Woodlark is now credited with being the best boat in the British Nile f1otilla-
 The British sloop-of-war Algerine Is at the present time in drydock at Tung-Ka- doc, China, making good the damage she suffered recently in a collision with a junk. She has been remarkably unfortu- nate since her first commission on Feb ruary Il, 1897. It took her eight days to make Gibraltar from Plymouth, losing one boat and smashing others. Arriving on the China station one of her officers committed suicide, and in November last she ran aground on the Shanghai flats remaining high and dry for some hours Still more recently she ran aground again, carrying away her starboard bilge keel and ripping off the wood sheathfng
 
 misfortunes she afterward coIlided with a junk, by which she lost several boats and was badly damaged about her top sides and deck. The reparirs will take several weeks and will cost at least $15,- eco.
 The experience which the British cruiser Edgar recently had with a tramp steamer indicates that it is more difficult to sink a merchant vessel than a ship of war. The Edgar fell in with the Eden moor, a tramp steamer from Newcastle bound for an ASatic port with a cargo of refined petroleum. The steamer was on fire fore and aft, and the crew was taken off with some difficulty. The captain of the Edgar concluded to quicken the sink ing of the doomed steamer and opened brisk fire with her quick-firing guns and an occasional shell from her 9.2-inch gun. After an hour or so of this gun practice the Edenmoor evidently became some what dilapidated and took a gradual list to port. This was her condition at noon, and an hour later she was nearly bottom up. At o'clock the man-of-warS crew renewed the attack, and after firing sev- enty shots from the 6-inch quick-fring guns and the 9.2-inch gun the haplesS steamer ''fluked" and gradually disap peared stern foremost, sinking in sixty fathoms. The money expended in firing shells at this tramp steamer must have footed up close to 5000. but it was a practice in gunnery of which the Edgar was evidently very much in need.