Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1907-08-30
SCIENCE NOTES.

There has been some discussion recently
as to the identity of the first steel boat.
and a letter was published in the Lon
don Times by ]. F. Lacon in which he
states that steel paddle steamer Ma Rob-
ert, was built at Brkenhead In 1857 for the
Livingstone expedition. and that he has al
ways been under the impression that this
was the first steel ship. This antedates the
building of the ship Annie, which A. u.
Seaton stated was built by Samueson of
Hull in 1854 Mr.. Lacon says: LAS far back
as 1853 Mr. Howell called the attention of
shlpbuilders and engineers to the value of
mild cast steel for shipbuilding and kim
dred purposes, and in 1856 introduced 1t as
HowelPs homogeneous metal. This was,
Mr.. Howell stated, the origin of the sue
cessful application of steel for ships. boil
ers, tubes. etc. and the use Of this metal in
the hull and boilers Of the Ma Robert was
the first instance Of the application of steel
for shipbuilding. 1t was also the first in
stance of the use for shipbuilding Of what
Is now called high tensile steel, the strength
six tons per square inch. with a limit Of
elasticity Of about twenty-three tons"
Although the first turbine engine was fin
ished only ten years ago, it Is stated that
there are now a total of sixty-eight Of these
vessels having a speed Of twenty knots or
better. Ten are turbine propelled. The to-
tai horsepower of marine turbines COM
pleted and under order Is about 100000.
It has been found that the channel boats.
many Of which have been fitted with tur-
bines. use from 10 to 25 per cent less coal
per trip than do those with reciprocating
engines, besides requiring fewer men in the
engine room and making smaller demands
upon Oil and other stores.
1t would seem that some measure of sue
cess has attended the work Of the fourth
expedition into Africa sent by the Liver
pool School of Tropical Medicine for the
purpose Of studying the sleeping sickness.
A brief message was received requesting
the immediate shipment of some atoxyl. a
preparation made especially for this pur
pose, and announcing that the experiments
on cattle indicated success. The members
OF the expedition will remain until late in
the year. and different wings Of the party
will traverse the entire territory OF the dis
trict infested by the t'se tse fly, which, 1t
Is said. Is the means of distributing the dis
ease. One of the main objects Of the expe-
dition. which Is financed by the Liverpool
school and supported by the British pro-
tectorates concerned and the British South
Africa Company. Is to endeavor to prevent
the spread of sleeping sickness Into districts
hitherto uninfested. The expedition will
also study the disease on the spot, and will
pay special attention to the disease of an
imals and the distribution Of biting flies.
The electric fan in one shape or another
has been an important factor in the i'm
provement of the hygienic conditions exist
ing in industrial establishments. Many oc-
equations heretofore regarded as deadly
are now carried on without any injurious
ELECTS Owing u Tie pO6slDlllty VI carrying
off dust and fumes. A familiar application
of the fan for handling refuse and remov-
Ing dust is in the planning mill, where each
machine Is hooded, and a vacuum is pro-
duced in the pipes by the fan to convey
the waste material long distances, pass 1t
through dust collectors and exhaust the
clarified air. In shoe factories the fan re-
moves the fine leather dust from the buffing
wheels and other shoe-working machines.
Exhaust systems are also advantageous in
connection with machines for pointing the
pins Of horn and celluloid combs busters"
used for cleaning paper mill rags, hydro
1uoric acid tanks Of the glass cutter, pol
ishing lathes used by lensmakers and in
machine shops, textile mills. match facto-
ries. lead works and other industries. In
this connection 1t may be of interest to note
that the electric fan has rival in the
shape of fan driven by a hot-air engine.
The innovation comes from Germany and
is being introduced with success into India,
where the electric current is not always
available. 1t might be supposed from this
that the natural field for the hot-air fan en-
CINE would be in localities where there is
no electric power, but 1t has been found
that 1t can compete with the electric fan in
the latter's own field, owing to the extreme
cheapness of the cost of its running, which
is about One-fifth. One quart Of kerosene is
sufficient to drive the hot-air engine and
fan for over twenty-four hours.
A fountain on shipboard Is somewhat of
a novelty, but this has been resorted to in
the equipment of some passenger boats ply
ing on one of the Bra zilian rivers, where
tho heat Is intense Under ordinary circum-
stances. That part Of the deck frequented
by the first-class passengers has Deen COW
cred with a water-tight awning, and at reg
ular intervals there are sprinklers, such
as are used on lawns. and these are main
tanned in constant operation. 1t has been
found a very effective scheme in keeping
the cabins cool, and there is very marked
difference noticeable between the tempera-
ture of this part of the craft when COM
pared with that for the other passengers.
The heat Of the sun is absorbed in the
evaporation of the water. on the canvas.
and does not penetrate through to the cab
ms and decks.