The Bridgeport times and evening farmer., 1918-07-17

any part of the sea a. convoy may be | attacked by a raider; this may be an armored cruiser oS a well-armed ship | disguised as neutral merchantmen. Merchant ships today have to face dangers and difficulties previously unknown. Apart from the common perils of the sea, such as gales and storms, fogs,. collisions, and fire, Brit ish sailors have to face dangers on the sea---raiders; above the sea--Hair- craft, and under the sea---submarines and mines. These terrific engines of destruction are being used in violent tsontravention of international rules and often with atrocity unparalleled in the history of civilized nations. There are dangers in the convoy itself Vigilance is necessary, so that no enemy ship disguised as an 1nno- cent merchantmen is included in the convoy, and no ship is allowed to join during the voyage.
 Apart from these affairs, 1t may be imagined easily that the ships differ ing in size, speed, disposition as re- gards manoeuvring qualities, and steering capacity involve the escort in great anxiety, some of which will be explained.
 
 i ture of the ships that were escorted ! to England, I went round the harbor 2 in tug and found:
 A store of merchant ships
 Filld with oil, meat and grain, N All bound for British ports,
 And keen to cross the main. ~ They were a motley group, fr the majority had been dishgured with paint. Three of the ships presented the usual slate color of iron vessels hut the remainder had their outsides, including the tunnels, ventilators, and upper works daubed with broad bands of black, white, blue, green, or red. Some of the markings were vertical, others oblique, some straight, others curved, and at all angles known in trigonometry. No design appears to have been followed, except in an at { tempt to repeat the peculiar black and white stripes on the rump of the ze- bra. The majority resembled clowns, harlequins, and pantaloons; some had a pattern that made them look as if they were covered with chintz of gaudy pattern.
 Protective Coloration-
 There is nothing more disputed in Natural History than what is known as Protective Celebration. In this {. matter the Admiralty, anxious to Ibaf- ffe the pirates infesting our coastal waters, and especially the approaches to our ports, leaves nothing to chance and in spite of the doubtful value of sa protective coloration, dis1gure war ! ships as well as merchant ships with paint. Ladies of fashion have long 1 known the value of striped dresses. Vertical stripes increase the apparent height, and are in favor with short women. Fat and short women avoid horizontal stripes. Zebra stripings { dnd the greatest favor for ships. It { is a fact that a ship adorned with such stripes is, in dock, as conspic- uous as a zebra in Ptccadilly, but < when a zebra is seen at a. distance in his native surroundings, the black and white stripes so blend that the animal is inconspicuous. It happens that animals admirably protected by color in their natural surroundings are easily detected when they move. E Shakespeare has an epigram on this: Things in motion sooner catch the eye, than what not stirs.'' This, how s1r6V6T, QO6S uOL dpply lO NSbAt~S' AAOA 4 sthiped ships, for moving they are more indistinct than when at rest.
 Captains In Council.
 Before leaving port the Captains of the merchant ships meet the Officers of the Escort in' Conference. The 5 Captains Courageous assemble, attest their. names, and receive the rules re- lating to Conveys. The preliminaries settled the Captain of the Escort reads carefully to the meeting regu- 1ations connected with the station oi each ship, order of sailing, details -o1 the route and speed. Then follow in 1 structions special to particular ship! and matters relating to time, signals station-keeping and change of course The importance of the great danger of lights at night, especially whe1 near and in the danger zone, is in sisted on.
 There are hard and fast rules fo all conveys, and some issued by tn Admiralty as to course and rendez vous. The Captains of the Escort ha certain special rules which he ex plains in detail. A ship is selected t act as a vessel for the Commodore who is an officer selected from tn staff of the Escorting Cruiser. Fac ship in the Convoy hasa trained sig naller to ensure uniformity in signal ling. The time and order of sailin are agreed upon and the Conferenc disperses. Many of the Captains wh were at the Conference had alread
 been conveyed and thoroughly ar
 preciated the protection this metho
 offords.
 It was a grand morning, with "a ~ eager and a nipping air" when tn
 ships left the harbor and proceede
 to sea, and in due course Beautifl
 Dove, the escort, followed them. 4 . the anchor was weighted the ban played the National Anthem. u
 Maple Leaf, and the Star Spangle
 Banner In passing through the i:I'
 a good opportunity was afforded ft
 identifying the ships and fornir
 some idea of their behavior at SC
 Soon signals were hoisted for the shil
 to start tagging. In twenty mil
 utes the ships were zig-zagging f
 all they were worth, and in the
 comic disguise, produced an extreme
 amusing appearance, resemblil
 clumsy and ill-assorted partners at
 ball practising quadrilles and waltz
 in fancy costume. This was the fir
 lesson the Convoy had in steam ta
 tics at sea, and at the end of an ho
 they were out of station, but it W
 excellent practice, and afforded t
 Captain of the Escort information
 the zig-zagging ability of each shi
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