by the writer on other pages, for they would enable the lower bunkers to be made of greater capacity, even on the smaller cruisers. Such bunkers can be more easily and quickly stowed; the scuttles in the protective deck can be kept closed in action because there will be sufficient coal below for continuous rapid supply; and with equal weights of coal less space will be required on the berth deck. This is but one example among many, which shows that when any portion of the ship is simplified there are many resultant benefits.

The man is the most important part of the ship's mechanism; but how has he been treated? Compare the San Francisco with the Constellation, the Detroit with the Portsmouth: the proportion of officers to crew has certainly not been diminished, yet the comforts of the officers have been increased while those of the men have been lessened. At night, even in port, they are packed in small compartments, heated by fire rooms and dynamo rooms or steam pipes wet from condensation or leaking pipes, and at sea their condition is even worse. To offset these discomforts, there have been supplied lockers of all kinds, bake ovens, steam cookers, refrigerating machines, and many other conveniences, but in the small space assigned him, Jacky cannot find rest day or night. The service of guns, the care of ship and machinery and their many complicated appliances require a constant vigilance which cannot be had unless the men can rest when off duty; tickling their palates with hot rolls and ice water is not sufficient. Every one having experience on the new ships feels the necessity for larger crews in war, the present complements being inadequate to perform the many responsible and onerous duties required to secure anything like continuous efficiency; they can stand the pressure during a few hours of excitement, but the continued strain of watching and waiting for the enemy must be distributed among more men, in order that everything shall be ready when he appears. Simplification is thus needed in two directions: a reduction in the number of appliances requiring constant attention, so that fewer additional men will be required; and an increase of crew space by curtailing as far as practicable the space now occupied for other purposes.

The space assigned to officers' quarters in the earlier cruisers was large in order to carry more officers than were required for

purely military purposes so that the greatest number possible miga órán vea experience under the altered conditions of modem isipa; but as ships become more numerous, fewer officers *... be awigned to them, and some of the space now occupied Ly mer quarters can be given to the crew. The innumerable returns, accounta, invoices and other papers now deemed necessary, not only absorb much time from officers and men in mere clerical dites at the expense of true efficiency, but require a large proportion of space in their preparation. With the present rage for

ientific investigation and reports, one is tempted to believe that in a few years, the captain of the hold will have a berth deck office and submit a daily report of the chemical analysis of the contents of his water tanks, a weekly report of the amounts con*med for the various purposes of ship economy, and a quarterly report giving the effect on ship and crew of the varying qualities and quantities of water used; all of which would give very valuable scientific information no doubt, but its collection would be entirely out of place on a warship.

Not satisfied with the crowded state of the ship when newly bilt, no sooner is she in commission than the demands for more fittings, comforts and conveniences become unceasing ; another locker, a book case, a desk, a broiler, a deck gear room and the like, are called for and the crew space is lessened continuously even when additional crew space is obtained by one officer, others promptly ask for additional encumbrances to occupy it. There is no doubt that in time of war both officers and men would demand a general clearing out from stem to stern of everything that was superfluous or merely convenient; but why not simplify now? During visits to navy yards, if all would join in putting obstructions on shore instead of taking more on board, the gain in efficiency would be very great. It is not necessary in peace that the ship should have the Spartan simplicity of war; on the contrary, let us have every comfort that will add to health and cheerfulness, which does not militate against the efficiency of the ship as a weapon; but if common sense does not rule in their selection, we merely crowd the ship with useless gear liable to get out of order.

The Yalu fight has awakened the service to necessity for abolishing wooden bulkheads and elaborate joiner work, to minimize the

danger from fire and flying splinters; but it is worthy of note that Nelson, after his experience at Aboukir, considered fire as the greatest danger of naval warfare.

Although the boiler is the most important piece of mechanism on the warship, there has not been so much progress in adapting it to the conditions of modern warfare as has been the case with other parts of the equipment, until during the last few years. The space occupied by cylindrical boilers is nearly two-thirds of that occupied by the whole propelling mechanism, and their weight is more than one-half the total machinery weight, for their form is least adapted to close stowage and reduction of weight. Tubulous boilers are less liable to derangement from accident or neglect, they occupying less space, for they can be stowed to better advantage; they are lighter, and steam of higher pressure can be raised in much less time; faults can be sooner detected and easier repaired; but it is only fair to state that their opponents claim that many of these advantages are illusory or are gained at the sacrifice of more important qualities. Many objections of the same nature were offered when surface condensers first appeared, but are heard no more. Efficient boilers should be able to steam quickly and safely at full power at any time during a cruise; other considerations are secondary; but all requirements are met by the tubulous boiler, and its general adoption seems certain.

In the advance from simple self-contained engines to the triple or quadruple-expansion engines of to-day there has been a development of increased power with lessened space and weight beyond the most sanguine expectations of even ten years ago. The Boston and Cincinnati are of practically the same size, yet when the former has one engine the latter has two which develop more than twice the power on the same weight. The complexity necessary to accomplish this is no departure from efficiency when the engines are strong, reliable and durable, for they are directly under the observation of officers who possess skill and judgment to operate and preserve them; and any unusual wear or uncertainty, any fault or weakness can be quickly detected because they are continually in sight. Standardizing has been carried out to a large extent, and there has been much simplification; the Wabash valves of early days have disappeared, and the radial

valve gears of geometrical perfection are being displaced by the old familiar and reliable link motion.

In another direction, however, a great departure from simplicity and efficiency has occurred. The auxiliaries necessary for the functioning of the propelling machinery are no longer attached to the main engines. They are now independent and scattered throughout the whole machinery space, where they cannot receive the watchful and responsible supervision necessary for their efficient performance; break-downs occur and it is necessary to fit additional auxiliaries to provide for such emergencies. It has been stated that the speed endurance depends as largely on the propelling auxiliaries, as the fighting power depends upon the secondary battery. A stronger case could easily be made out for them, but it is the number of auxiliaries which is being discussed and not their duties.

There are many auxiliaries outside of those connected with the propelling machinery, and the following table has been prepared from the best information at hand to show their number and uses on various types of ships; the classification explains itself.