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REPORT.

OUTWARD VOYAGE.

As stated in the preliminary report of my journey of Date of sailing. inspection of the European light-house establishments, I sailed from New York in the steamship Cuba, of the Cunard

line, on the 30th of April, 1873.

with

con

During the voyage I had many interesting conversations Conversation with the commander, Captain McCauley, in regard to the McCauley Captain lights of the United States, France, and England. In ref- can lights. erence to our own lights he stated that they were in general satisfactory to mariners, and had been of great service to him on many occasions, during his long service in the Cunard Company, especially in running between Boston and New York and between Halifax and Boston. With respect to brilliancy, the English and American Brilliancy lights are, in his opinion, about equal, but those of the French, and En French he considers superior to either.

He said of the electric lights, of which the English and French have several, that they penetrated fog much more. successfully than the common oil-light, and aids to navigation in fog are, in his opinion, vastly more important than for fair weather.

of

American,

glish lights.

Electric lights penetrate fog.

Fog-signals of to mariners.

great advantage

needed on En

. Our fog-signals he praised highly, saying that the steamwhistle at Cape Ann and the siren at Sandy Hook had often been of great service to him, and he confidently relied on hearing them at distances of from six to eight miles. He Fog-signals thought it would be much to the interest of commerce if the glish coasts. British government would place similar signals at important points, as the channel approaches to Great Britain. were nearly as much subject to fogs as is our eastern coast. Our Nantucket Shoals he considered to be badly lighted, Insufficient and called my attention to the fact that on the coasts of Great Britain, in similar localities, light-ships are placed at distances of ten to twelve miles apart; such I found afterward to be the case. He thought a light-ship should Light-ship needbe placed off the Rose and Crown Shoal, (which is due east Crown Shoal. from Sankaty Head, on the Island of Nantucket,) so that a vessel could take a course to it from the Highlands (Cape Cod) light, and thence to the Nantucket New South Shoals light-ship, which he thought should be moved farther out.

NOTE.-The more important points to which attention is called in this report are noted in the concluding pages 267 to 272.

lighting of Nantucket Shoals.

ed off Rose and

steamer on New

in a thick fog.

Meeting with On the fifth night out from New York (the night of the foundland Banks 4th of May) we met a steamship on the Banks off Newfoundland, but there being at the time one of those dense fogs prevalent at some seasons of the year in that part of the Atlantic, we did not see her, and only knew of her proximity by the sound of her whistle, a fact which impressed Importance of me with the importance of powerful fog-signals on the transatlantic steamships plying between America and Europe on this much-frequented track.*

fog signals on

steamers.

sels during fogs.

of whistles in use on steamers.

Danger of col- In addition to the large number of steamships the numisions with ves- ber of sailing-vessels is very great, and the tales of narrow escapes from collision, especially with fishermen anchored on the Banks, which one hears while (enveloped in dense fog) he is steaming along at a high rate of speed, very much impair the confidence which is naturally inspired by vessels like those of the Cunard line and commanders like Captain McCauley; for it is evident that want of efficient fog-signals cannot be compensated for by strength of ship or skill of Insufficiency officers. The whistles in use are, I am told, frequently insufficient in power, and, being placed abaft the foresails and in front of the great smoke-pipes, are in such positions that the sound-shadows often cover the precise directions in which it is most essential the warning should be conveyed. I am of the opinion that not only the position but the kind nals should be of fog signals to be used in transatlantic steamers should international be regulated by a joint commission of the governments interested, and that, before deciding these questions, not only the whistle, but the Daboll trumpet and the siren which we use at our fog-signal stations on shore, as well as the Austrian fog trumpet, (shown in Plate L,) should be considered.

Position and kind of fog-sig

determined by an

commission.

Questions to be determined.

Question of

best position for

nal.

As the power necessary to operate these signals is on these steamships always at hand, it is not, as in the lighthouse service, a question of cost of maintenance, but the questions to be decided on are:

First. What is the most efficient instrument for the purpose?

Second. What is the most advantageous position practica ble for it?

This position, it is evident, must be one in no way intersteamer's fog-sig-fering with the management of the sails and rigging, and where no danger exists of the signal being carried away by the sea.

* From information derived from my friend, Mr. George W. Blunt. of New York, and from other sources, it appears eight to ten steamers cross the Banks every to Europe and vice versa.

that on an average from day going from America

The question of ship-lights should also be determined by Ship-lights. the same commission, and I have no doubt the magnetoelectric light, which I believe has been spoken of before in this connection, and which is fully described in this report, will have favorable consideration, since the steam-power necessary for operating the magnetic machines is constantly available.

light.

On the morning of Friday, the 9th of May, we made the southwesterly point of Ireland, and had a good opportunity of seeing the important light-house on Fastnet Rock, off Fastnet Rock Cape Clear. This tower, having nearly vertical sides, which spread with a curve near the base, is 92 feet high, and, together with the appendages, presents a very picturesque appearance, being surrounded by a high retaining-wall, necessary, apparently, for the formation of a platform large enough for the establishment.

The lantern has the vertical sash-bars introduced into our service from the French. A broad band of red contrasts strongly with the color of the main body of the tower, which is built of iron.

As the Cuba steamed along the south coast of Ireland, and from two to four miles distant from the shore, a good view of the neat light-stations was afforded.

A very interesting one was the Old Head of Kinsale with its tall tower, on which two red bands distinguished it as a day-mark.

Old Head of Kinsale light.

Each of the stations appears to have capacious grounds walled in with stone, and all are neatly whitewashed. The buildings connected with light-houses are generally of one story, covering a large area. We passed Ballycottin light,, Ballycottin which stands 195 feet above the sea, and when we stopped at Queenstown to deliver the mails, we saw on the eastern head of the harbor the handsome light at Point Roche.

light.

Point Roche light.

Off the mouth of this harbor is an extensive shoal, the upper end marked by a bell-boat, and the lower by a can- Bell-boat. buoy, on which the word "Danger" was painted in white letters.

A few hours after leaving Queenstown we passed the light-house on Tuskar Rock, at the entrance of St. George's Channel, evidently an important station. The tower, to which is attached the double dwelling for the keepers, is 100 feet high. Tuskar Rock is several miles from shore, in the great highway to Liverpool, so that vessels entering or leaving St. George's Channel pass quite near it.

It was on this rock that the Cunard steamship Tripoli struck a short time ago, and it is evident that the powerful S. Ex. 54-2

Tuskar light.

Rock

Arrival at the Mersey.

Bell-buoy the bar.

on

Buoyage of channel.

lights.

fog-signal that the English government proposes to place at this point is much needed.

On the morning of the 10th we arrived at the mouth of the Mersey, and, after waiting an hour or more for suflicient tide to take us over the bar, we proceeded up the river to Liverpool.

On the bar we passed a large bell-buoy, shaped like our nun-buoys, above the water-line, except that it rested on a large bearing-surface, projecting a foot or more beyond its sides.

The sea being quite smooth, the bell was silent, as is too often the case with this very unreliable kind of signal. The channel of the river is marked by frequent buoys; on the starboard hand red "can," and on the port black "'nun."

Light-ships We passed several light-ships, some of which, as Captain with revolving McCauley informed me, have revolving lights, an important fact to be noted, since a revolving is seen much farther than a fixed light, and, when light-ships are numerous, as off the southeastern Irish coast, in the approaches to Liverpool, or on the shoals off the coast of Massachusetts, distinguishing characteristics are as necessary as for shore-lights.

Docks, &c., at Liverpool.

Visit to the Trinity House.

Improvements in lamps.

I spent a day examining the great docks at Liverpool, and at Birkenhead, on the opposite side of the river, and became much interested in the immense walls, the gates and bridges, swung by hydraulic power, and many other objects which this is not the place to describe.

TRINITY HOUSE, LONDON.

Soon after reaching London I called at the Trinity House, where I was received with great politeness by Sir Frederick Arrow, the Deputy Master, who, with Captain Webb, of the Elder Brethren, visited America during the summer of 1872 for the purpose of attending our fog-signal experiments made in the harbor of Portland, in the State of Maine, after which we had the pleasure of meeting them at Washington.

Sir Frederick expressed his gratification at the attentions he received in the United States, and after an interesting conversation regarding our respective establishments, particularly relating to our fog-signals and to the very great improvements in light-house lamps made by the Trinity House, (whereby the quantity of light from the "four-wick" Advantage lamp for large sea-coast light-houses had been increased 22 per cent., while the consumption of oil had actually been decreased more than 19 per cent., an advantage of over 41 per cent. in favor of the new lamp for large towers, and a still

gained.

greater one for smaller sea-coast and harbor lights,) he said that since I informed him of my intended visit to Europe he had made several engagements for me, including a dinner at the Lord Mayor's on the 21st of May, in honor of the return of the Master of Trinity House, the Duke of Edinburgh; several cruises around the coast of England in the steam-yachts of the corporation, which were shortly to start on their annual supply-voyages to the light-stations, and a visit to Dover, to be present at some fog-signal experiments to be undertaken by the Elder Brethren under direction of Professor Tyndall.

It was during this visit that I had the pleasure of meeting Mr. Robin Allen, for many years the Secretary of the Trinity House, and Mr. Edwards, private secretary of the Deputy Master, who accompanied him on his visit to the United States.

During my stay in London I made frequent visits to the Trinity House, and was very soon after my arrival introduced to Mr. Douglass, the talented Engineer of the establishment, and to most of the Elder Brethren; the pleasure was also afforded me of meeting my friend Captain Webb, and I was glad to hear that it was with him that one of my cruises among the British light-houses was to be made.

Plans of lighthouses.

Mr. Douglass showed me his plans of some of the more important English light-houses, particularly that of the Wolf Rock, off Land's End, as well as his drawings of Wolf Rock lanterns and lamps.

It is noticeable that the English, in their lanterns, use diagonal sash-bars and low parapets, (or unglazed parts,) differing in this respect from the French and ourselves. Mr. Douglass was, as I afterward found the French and other light-house engineers of Europe to be, especially interested in the subject of lamps as well as that of material for illumination, these subjects being considered of most importance at the present time in light-house administration.

Drawings lamps.

of

in

Sash - bars English lanterns.

Interest of Eu

in lamps and oils for light-houses.

ropean engineers

power of light

expense.

Within the last five or six years improvements have been made from time to time in lenticular apparatus, but they are of trifling importance when contrasted with the great Increase in increase of power and concurrent decrease of expense of sea- and decrease in coast lights as compared with the system in use in Europe a few years ago, and with ours of the present time. These vast ameliorations have been produced by1st. The introduction of mineral oil for light-house illumi- changes. nation.

Causes producing

these

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