duties is but trifling compared with the injury they inflict on our trade; it would, consequently, be good policy for the former to sell, and for the British government to buy, an exemption from so vexatious a duty; and we are well assured that few things would do more to extend our trade with Hamburgh than the completion of an arrangement of this sort.

Previously to 1736, English ships passing up the Elbe had to come to an anchor opposite Brunshausen: but they were then allowed, under certain conditions, to pass on to Hamburgh. The proclamation to this effect, and which contains an epitome of the regulations that have still to be observed, is subjoined.

1. That all English vessels be exempted from coming to an anchor before the river Schwinge, and allowed to sail directly up to Hamburgh.

2. Such English vessels shall be obliged, at their approach, within about 1-4 of a league thereof, to hoist their colours, to lower their ails, and only to drive, till the legitimation is made at the king's frigate lying there.

3. The master of the ship, or a proper person fully provided with the necessary documents, is to go on board the frigate, and afterwards to the Custom-house at Brunshausen and Stade; and there to produce an exact manifest, and the original bills of lading, cockets, &c.

4. The documents being produced, the accounts shall be stated, and all duties must be paid at Brunshausen, Stade, or Hamburgh.

5. The clearance shall be given at Brunshausen to the person sent thither by the master of the vessel; by whom it must be delivered to the king's commissary in Hamburgh, together with the documents of the cargo, and a specification of the parcels, bales, casks, &c. which were received on board at the port of lading, whether designed for Hamburgh or other places.

6. Bulk must not be broken till all this has been performed, except the king's commissary in Hamburgh permits, in urgent cases, the unloading.

7. The vessel being thus allowed to pass the frigate without being searched, in case of suspecting any fraud, the masters shall be obliged to sign a proper oath; and the merchants in Hamburgh, who receive effects by those vessels, shall make an exact report thereof, and give

a certificate in lieu of an oath-that they neither have received nor expected more goods than have been specified,-which must be delivered to his Majesty's commissary in Hanburgh, to enable him to examine the report made by the master

8. No master is to depart from Hamburgh before he has taken a certificate from his Majesty's commissary, proving that all has been duly performed; which is to be sent to the king's frigate, near Bruushausen.

9. The signals mentioned in the second article are likewise to be made when the ship repasses Stade.

10. The taking cognizance of, and punishing misdemeanours, frauds, and mismanagements, as well as the neglecting of the preceding articles, remains in the Court of the King's Customs at Stade; so that both merchants and masters of ships, who may be called to an account, shall, when summoned, appear before the said court, and submit to its decisions; but they have the liberty of appeal to the superior courts for a revision and relief.

11. As to all other points not expressly mentioned in the foregoing articles, they shall be observed at the king's Custom houses at Brunshausen, Stade, and Hamburgh, according to the regulations and customs heretofore practised.

12. This gracious concession is hereby granted only durante bene placilo; the king reserving to himself and his successors in his German dominions the right of revoking it, and making any alterations or new orders, whenever they shall see reason.

The following statement, taken from the books of a Hamburgh merchant, shows in parallel columns, the amount of the Stade and Hamburgh duties paid on certain articles imported into Hamburgh. It is clear from it, that even though there were no burdensome regulations to be complied with, the amount of the Stade duties must be a very serious drawback on the trade of the Elbe.

A List, showing the Amount of Stade Duties, and the Amount of Hamburgh Duties paid on the same Goods imported into Hamburgh.

STARCH (Ger. Amidan; Fr. Amidon; It. Amodi, Amito; Sp. Amidon, Almidon; Rus. Kruchmal), a substance obtained from vegetables. It has a fine white colour, and is usually concreted in longish masses; it has scarcely any smell, and very little taste. When kept dry, it continues for a long time uninjured, though exposed to the air. It is insoluble in cold water; but combines with boiling water-forming with it a kind of jelly. It exists chiefly in the white and brittle parts of vegetables, particularly in tuberose roots, and the seeds of the gramineous plants. It may be extracted by pounding these parts, and agitating them in cold water; when the parenchyma, or fibrous parts, will first subside; and these being removed, a fine white powder, diffused through the water, will gradually subside, which is the starch. Or the pounded or grated substance, as the roots of potatoes, acorns, or horse chestnuts, for instance, may be put into a hair sieve, and the starch washed through with cold water, leaving the grosser matters behind. Farinaceous seeds may be ground and treated in a similar manner. Oily seeds require to have the oil expressed from them before the farina is extracted. Potato starch goes a good deal further than wheat starch—a less quantity of it sufficing to form a paste of equal thickness, with water. It has a very perceptible crystallised appearance, and is apparently heavier than common starch.—(Thomson's Chemistry; Ure's Dictionary.)

Starch is charged with a duty of 34d. per lb.; and its manufacture is, consequently, placed under the control of the excise. Every maker of starch for sale must take out an annual licence, which costs 51. Notice must be given to the excise of the erection, and of all changes in the construction, of workshops, implements, &c. used in the manufacture of starch, under a penalty of 2001. All starch, before it is put into any stove or place to dry, must be papered and sealed or stamped by the officer, under a penalty of 1007. Any person forging or counterfeiting such stamp or seal is guilty of felony, but with the benefit of clergy. Any person knowingly selling any starch with a forged or counterfeit stamp, &c. forfeits 500l. No quantity of starch exceeding 28 lbs. to be removed from one place to another, unless the word starch be marked on the package in legible letters 3 inches long, under forfeiture of the package, and of the cattle and carts conveying the same. Any dealer in starch receiv ing any quantity exceeding 28 lbs. not marked as above, shall forfeit 2007. Starch-makers are to make weekly entries of the starch made by them, under a penalty of 502.; and are to make payment of the duties within a week of such entry. Cockets granted for shipping starch to be carried coastwise are

to express the quality, quantity, weight, the mark of the package, by whom made and sold, and to whom consigned; and if shipped without such cocket, it may be seized. No starch is to be imported, unless in packages containing at least 224 lbs. stowed openly in the hold, on pain of forfeiture and of incurring a penalty of 501. No starch is to be exported, unless the package as originally sealed or stamped by the officer be entire, and unless the officer mark the word exportation upon it. The duties must have been paid on all starch exported; but the exporter is entitled to an excise drawback of 34d per lb.-(Burn's Justice of the Peace, Marriott's ed., tit. Starch.)

An Account of the Number of Pounds of Starch that paid the Home Consumption Duty in Great Britain, the Rate of Duty, and the Gross and Nett Produce of the Duty, in each of the Three Years ending with the 5th of January, 1833.

(The injurious influence of the duty on starch, the nett produce of which, in 1833, was only 91,517. 188. 24d., was most ably exposed, and its abolition strongly recommended, by the Commissioners of Excise Inquiry, and we are glad to have to add that, agreeably to that recommendation, the duty has been abolished.—(4 & 5 Will. 4. c. 77.)-Sup.)

(STEAM VESSELS.

An Account of the Number and Tonnage of Steam Vessels belonging to the British Empire in the Year 1837, distinguishing British Possessions in Europe from the British Plantations.

Vessels Tonnage Vessels Tonnage Vessels Tonnage Vessels Tonnage Vessels Tonnage Vessels Tonnage Vessels Tooniage 422 37,240 109 13,368 87 18,437 618 69,045 6 668 78,286

832

44

8,411

Steam Engines and Steam Vessels, &c. of the United States. We believe we shall be doing an acceptable service to the bulk of our readers by laying before them the following extracts from a letter by the Secretary of the Treasury of the United States, prepared in pursuance of a resolution of the House of Representatives, of the 20th of June, 1838. It communicates many interesting particulars with respect to the employment of steam engines and steam vessels in the United States, and the accidents that have happened to the latter.

Number of Steamboats, Locomotives, and other Steam Engines in the United States."The whole number of steam engines, of every kind, in the United States, reckoning one to each boat, is estimated to be 3,010. Of these, 2,653 have been ascertained, and 357 are estimated, in places from which the returns are either defective or not received at all. Of this whole number, about 800 are supposed to be employed in steamboats, of which 700 are ascertained, and 100 estimated. About 350 are employed in locomotives upon railroads. Of these, 337 are ascertained, and 13 estimated. The residue, being 1,860, are used in manufactories of various kinds. Of these, 1,616 are ascertained, and 244 estimated."

Number of Accidents to Steam Engines.-"The number of accidents occasioning loss of life or much injury to property, which have occurred in the use of steam engines of every kind in the United States, is computed to have been about 260. Of these, 253 are ascertained, and the rest are estimated. Such accidents, by explosions and other disasters to steamboats, appear to have constituted a great portion of the whole, and are supposed to have equalled 230, of which 215 are ascertained. The first of these is believed to have occurred in the Washington, on the Ohio river, in 1816.

"Since the employment of steamboats in the United States, it is computed that quite 1,300 have been built here. Of these, about 260 have been lost by various accidents, as many as 240 worn out, and the rest are now running.

"The first steamboat used for practical purposes here, (or indeed in any part of the world.) was in 1807, on the Hudson River, in the State of New York. She was built by Fulton, called the North River, with an engine of only 18-horse power, and made the passage between Albany and New York in thirty-three hours. Though with a steam engine manufac tured abroad by Boulton and Watt, yet no boat was launched in Europe, that proved successful in practice, till five years after, by Mr. Bell, at Glasgow, in 1812. At that time the Car of Neptune, built in 1808, the Paragon, in 1811, and the Richmond, in 1812, were all, in addition to the boat first built, running from New York. Rumney is known to have made experiments on a small scale as to steamboats, in Virginia, as early as 1787; but they were not reduced to any practical use. Both he and Fitch commenced trials in this country as early as 1783 and 1784, and Oliver Evans, in 1785 and 1786. They had been preceded in France, in 1762, by the Marquis d'Jeaffrey; and the idea of applying steam in boats had been suggested in England as early as 1736, by Jonathan Hulls.

"The whole number of steamboats ascertained and estimated to be now in this country, is 800. In England, in 1836, the whole number is computed to have been 600. On the Western and South-western waters alone, near 400 are now supposed to be running, where

STEAM VESSELS.

none were used till 1811, and where, in 1834, the number was computed to be only 234
Of these 400, about 141 are estimated. On the Ohio river alone, in 1837, about 413 dif-
ferent steamboats are reported to have passed through the Louisville and Portland canal,
besides all below and above, which never passed through. But it deserves notice, that of
those 413, near 60 went out of use by accidents, decay, &c., within that year; and several
of the others, viz., 104, were new, and many of them probably were destined to run on
other rivers. As an illustration of the rapid increase of business in steamboats on the Ohio,
the number of passages by them through the Louisville canal increased from 406, in 1831,
to 1,501, in 1837, or nearly fourfold in six years. About 70 boats were running the present
year on the North-western lakes, where a few years since the number was very small, having
been in 1835 only 25. Of the 800 steamboats now in the United States, the greatest num-
ber ascertained to be in any State is 140, in the State of New York.

"It is a matter of surprise that so few of these are sea-going vessels, considering that the first steamboat which ever crossed the Atlantic was built in New York, so long ago as 1819, and went from Savannah (the place after which she was called) to Liverpool in 26 days; and that the Robert Fulton, as early as 1822, made several trips to New Orleans and Havanna. A similar remark applies to the circumstance that only one of the whole number is a public vessel of war, when the first steam vessel of that kind ever launched was the Fulton, and was built in this country, so long ago as 1815. The Government of the United States never owned but two steam vessels of war-both called the Fulton.' The first was lost, by accident, in 1829; and now there is only the other, before alluded to, built in 1838. It has, however, 13 other steam vessels, employed in the war department, on the public works, and in the transportation of troops and stores. 0

"Of the whole number of locomotives in the United States propelled by steam, being about 350, the most which have been ascertained in any State is 96, in the State of PennA sylvania.

"None of them were introduced here till 1831, though they now run on nearly 1,500 miles of railroad. The first, it is believed, was in the State of Delaware, on the Newcastle railroad; the second, in Maryland, on the Baltimore and Ohio railroad; and the third, between New Orleans and Lake Pontchartrain, in the State of Louisiana. They had been tried in this country, by Oliver Evans, as early as 1804, and in England as early as 1805; but not reduced to useful practice in the latter till 1811, for freight, and in 1830 for passengers and speed. One succeeded on a common road, from London to Bath, in 1829. Of the whole number of other steam machines in the United States (being about 1,860), the State of Pennsylvania has the most, being 383. The number in some States is not accurately ascertained; but near 300 are ascertained and computed to exist in Louisiana alone. The introduction of them here, and especially with the high pressure machinery, was much promoted by Oliver Evans, about 1804. The first of them in use in the United States was put up in 1787, in the State of New Jersey, for raising water and earth from mines. The next were about 1791, in a cotton factory in Kensington, near Philadelphia; and soon after in saw-mills, and iron slitting and rolling mills at Pittsburgh. The power has been known in England to be applicable to mechanical uses since the experiments of the Marquis of Worcester, in 1663. It is said by some that he was preceded in France (and a pamphlet published on the subject as early as 1615) by Solomon de Caus. But the views of the latter, like many who preceded him in the knowledge of steam as a moving power, are supposed to have been rather theoretical than practical. Several machines were made in England as early as 1720; and Watt's first patent was taken out, for improvements in them, as early as 1769. But they were not, even there, very extensively and successfully applied to mills and manufactories, till 1785, though 18 large engines were employed in the mines of Cornwall as early as 1770; and a flour-mill, with 20 pairs of stones, was moved by steam in London in 1784. "The greatest employment of these in the South is in the sugar manufacture, and in cleaning and pressing cotton; in the West in grist and saw mills, and in various manufactures of iron machinery and tools; and in the East, in mills, in printing, in cotton manufactories, and the public works at navy yards and armories.

"The government of the United States owns 17 of these; they being employed at their navy yards, to empty docks, saw timber, &c.; and at some arsenals and armories, in manufacturing arms. :

"The tonnage of all the steamboats in the United States is computed to exceed 155,473. Of this, 137,473 is in boats ascertained or reported. By the official returns, the whole tonnage would now, probably, equal near 160,000 tons, having been, in 1837, equal to 153,660. Many boats included in those returns have been lost or worn out, and several new ones built since. In England, the tonnage is estimated to have been 67,969 in 1836. The tonnage of each boat here averages about 200; and the estimates, where the returns have been defective, were made on that basis. The power employed in all the steam engines in the United States is ascertained and estimated at 100,318 horse-power; of this, 12,140 only is in engines estimated and not returned. In the aggregate, all this new mechanical force would be equal to the power of 601,808 men. Of this force, 57,019 horse-power is computed to

be in steamboats; 6,980 in railroads; and the rest, being 36,319, in other engines. This averages about 70 horse-power to each boat, or one horse to between two and three tons, and less than 20 horse-power to each of the other engines. It is a striking fact, that the steampower employed in standing engines, is equal to about two-thirds of all that is used in steamboats. The largest boat in the United States is supposed to be the Natchez, of 860 tons, and near 300 horse-power, destined to run between New York and Mississippi; the Illinois, and the Madison, on Lake Erie, are the next in size, the former being 755, and the latter 700 tons; the Massachusetts, in Long Island Sound, is the next largest, being 626 tons; and the Buffalo, on Lake Erie, next, being of 613 tons. The largest boats passing Louisville, in 1837, were, the Uncle Sam, of 447 tons, and the Mogul, of 414 tons; though below Louisville, the Mediterranean, of 490 tons, and the North America, of 445 tons, on the Ohio, and the St. Louis, of 550 tons, on the Mississippi, are running. The greatest loss of life well-authenticated on any one occasion in a steamboat, appears to have been by collision, and consequent sinking, in the case of the Monmouth, in 1837, on the Mississippi, by which 300 lives were lost. The next greatest were by explosions; of the Oronoka, in 1838, on the same river, by which 130, or more, lives were lost; and of the Moselle, at Cincinnati, Ohio, by which 100 to 120 persons were destroyed. The greatest injury to life by accidents to boats from snags and sawyers appears to have been 13 lost, in 1834, in the case of the St. Louis, on the Mississippi river. The greatest by shipwreck, was in the case of the Home, in 1837, on the coast of North Carolina, where 100 persons were lost. The greatest by fire, happened in the Ben Sherrod, on the Mississippi river, in 1837, when near 130 perished. The number of steamboats built in the United States in 1834, was 88; but in 1837, it was 184; or, had increased over 200 per cent. in three years. The places where the greatest number of steamboats, and other steam machines, appear to have been constructed in this country, are Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, and Louisville, on the Western waters; and New York, Philadelphia, and Baltimore, on the Atlantic. At Louisville alone, from 1819 to 1838, there appears to have been built 244 steam engines; of which 62 were for boats. The fuel originally used in steamboats in the United States, was wood; but, of late years, bituminous coal has, in many instances, been substituted; and, in several, anthracite coal. The latter, from the small space it occupies, would seem to possess a decided advantage, in sea-going vessels, as well as in locomotives.

"Some steamboats, made of iron, are believed to be in use in Georgia, if not in other parts of this country, though none of that material have been manufactured here; but it is computed that their cost is less than those of wood, and, as they draw less water with the same freight, they are more useful on shallow streams."-Sup.)

[The number of steamboats built in the United States, during the years ending on the 30th of September, 1838 and 1839, were 90 and 125 respectively.

The 23d of April, 1838, constituted an era in the progress of navigation, by the arrival at New York of the steam ships Sirius and Great Western; the former having left Cork, in Ireland, on the 4th of April, and the latter Bristol, on the 8th.

The shortest passage of the Great Western, down to the 19th of June, 1840, from Bristol to New York, was 13 days; the longest 21; and the average, 16. The shortest passage from New York to Bristol, during the same period, was 12 days; the longest, 15; and the average, 13.

Besides the Great Western, the steam ship British Queen now passes regularly between New York and Great Britain. Her passages have averaged, from Portsmouth to New York, 174; and in the contrary direction, 16 days.

Cunard's Liverpool, Halifax, and Boston line of steam-packet ships, consisting of the Britannia, Acadia, Caledonia, and Columbia, is now in successful operation; the first arrival at Boston being that of the Britannia, on the 18th of July, 1840, in 14 days. On the 17th of August, the Acadia arrived at Boston, after a passage of only 12 days and 18 hours-the shortest passage ever made between Europe and America.

There can be no doubt that the success of the abovementioned vessels will speedily lead to the introduction of steam ships as the principal means for conveying passengers from the one continent to the other.-Am. Ed.]

STEEL (Fr. Acier; Ger. Stahl; It. Acciajo; Lat. Chalybs; Rus. Stal; Sp. Acero; Sw. Stal), is iron combined with a small portion of carbon; and has been, for that reason, called carburetted iron. The proportion of carbon has not been ascertained with much precision. It is supposed to amount, at an average, toth part. Steel is so hard as to be unmalleable while cold; or at least it acquires that property by being immersed, while ignited, in a cold liquid; for this immersion, though it has no effect upon iron, adds greatly to the hardness of steel. It is brittle, resists the file, cuts glass, affords sparks with flint, and retains the magnetic virtue for any length of time. It loses this hardness by being ignited, and cooled very slowly. It is malleable when red hot, but scarcely so when raised to a white heat. It may be hammered out into much thinner plates than iron. It is more sonorous; and its specific gravity, when hammered, is greater than that of iron-varying from 7·78 to 7-84.

STETTIN.

Steel is usually divided into 3 sorts, according to the method in which it is prepared; as na-
tural steel, steel of cementation; and cast steel. The latter is the most valuable of all, as
its texture is the most compact, and it admits of the finest polish. It is used for razors, sur-
geons' instruments, and similar purposes. Steel is chiefly employed in the manufacture of
swords, knives, and cutting instruments of all sorts used in the arts; for which it is pecu-
liarly adapted by its hardness, and the fineness of the edge which may be given to it.-
(Thomson's Chemistry; and see IRON.)

(STETTIN, a city of Prussia, on the left bank of the Oder, about 36 miles from its mouth,
in lat. 53° 23' 20" N., long. 14° 33′ E. It is well built, strongly fortified, and has a popu-
lation, exclusive of troops, of 30,000.

Stettin is the seat of an extensive and growing commerce: and is now, indeed, the principal port
of importation in Prussia. She owes this distinction mainly to her situation. The Oder, which flows
through the centre of the Prussian dominions, is navigable as far as Ratibor, near the extreme south-
ern boundary of Prussian Silesia; and is united, by means of canals, with the Vistula, the Elbe, the
Spree, &c.
Stettin is, consequently, the principal emporium of some very extensive and flourishing
countries; and is not only the port of Frankfort-on-the-Oder, Breslaw, &c., but also of Berlin. Hence,
at the proper seasons, its wharfs are crowded with lighters that bring down the produce of the differ-
ent countries traversed by the river, and bring back colonial products, and other articles of foreign
growth and manufacture. Vessels of considerable burden, or those drawing above 7 or 8 feet water,
load and unload, by means of lighters, at the mouth of the river, at Swinemunde, the out-port of
Stettin, on the east coast of the isle of Usedom, in lat. 53° 55′ N., long. 14° 15' 15" E. Formerly there
were not more than 7 feet water over the bar adjacent to Swinemunde; but the harbour of the latter
has recently been so much improved, by the construction of piers and breakwaters, dredging, &c., that
it is now the best on the Prussian coast, and admits vessels drawing from 18 to 19 feet water. A light-
house has been erected at the extremity of the Eastern pier. Stettin is a free port; that is, a port into
and from which all sorts of goods may be imported and re-exported free of duty. If goods brought through
the Sound be imported at Stettin, and entered for home consumption in the Prussian states, they are
charged with 24 per cent. less duty than if they had been imported through any other channel. This
is intended to reimburse the merchant for the Sound duties, and to encourage importation by this
direct route in preference to that carried on through Hamburgh and Embden. There is a great wool
fair in the month of June each year.

Monies, Weights, and Measures, same as at Dantzic, which see. The Bank of Berlin has a branch at
Stettin, and there is also an insurance office.

Port Regulations.-All vessels are prohibited entering Swineing-to for, and receiving, a pilot on board. But when compelled to munde, unless forced by stress of weather, without previously heav enter without a pilot, the master is to observe the signals made from the lighthouse on the eastern pier, and to shape his course accordingly. If no flag be hoisted on the lighthouse, nor signal made, the port cannot be entered, and the master must either anchor in the roads or stand out to sea. After the pilot has been received on board, the master is bound, in all cases, to conform to his directions. Within 24 hours after arrival, the master must deliver to the custom-house an account of the species and quantity of each article on board; and he is subjected to a heavy fine if this account should turn out to be incorrect. He is to abide by the instructions given him as to discharging his cargo, loading, &c. No gunpowder is to be kept on board, nor any inflammable matter boiled in the ship. All ships proceding from Swinemunde to Stettin must have pilots. The master must produce at the police office the muster roll of the crew, and the passports of the passengers, if there be any on board. The latter are bound to go with him to the police, and the crew, if desired. All presents to pilots and custom-house officers are strictly prohibited. Vessels directed to perform quarantine must immediately hoist the yellow flag; and on no account quit their assigned berth. The master is responsible for the conduct of the crew; and if any of them be discharged or remain on shore, he must give notice thereof to the police.

The following regulations apply to all the Prussian ports :Notification to Captains of Ships respecting Importation and Exportation by Sea in the Prussian Dominions:

As soon as a ship arrives in the road, and has complied with the police regulations of the port (which are communicated to her), the captain repairs to the custom-house, and delivers a complete list or manifest of cargo. This list bears the title of a chief declaration, or manifest, and in preparing it, the following conditions are to be observed :

If the whole cargo be not destined for the port, that part which is to proceed further with the ship is to be placed under a distinct division. The goods accompanied with bills of lading are entered in rotation after each other for every bill of lading.

The account (or statement) is made out in kind and quantity, agree able to those measures and divisions adopted in the tariff for the pay ment of duties.

Excepting therefrom various articles conveyed in an unpacked state, the following measures are valid:

For beer in casks, tuns of 100 Prus, quarts.