FOOTNOTES:
[164] The Americans are now rapidly developing their large natural resources of iron. “The iron ores of the United States” (London Times, 28th of May, 1875), “are plentiful and various, though some kinds are wanting; thus the ‘spathose’ or spar-like iron ore, scarce even in Europe, is very rare; and the ironstone of the liassic and oolite seams, which furnishes about one-third of our British pig-iron, appears to be wholly absent. On the other hand, the specular iron ore, the brown and red hematites, the clay and blackband ironstones, are good and abundant; and some of the deposits of magnetic iron ore—as at Lake Champlain, and at Cornwall, in Pennsylvania—are very remarkable. At Cornwall the deposit consists of a solid hill of ore, measuring roughly 500 feet in diameter, rising from the ground level to a height of 350 feet, and proved by borings to a depth of 180 feet below ground level. The iron mine at Port Henry—at the south-west corner of Lake Champlain, in the State of New York—is worked in a huge prism of ore, about 200 feet square, and descending at an angle of 26 to 40 degrees, to an unknown depth, the superincumbent rock being supported by pillars of solid ore, 40 feet square at the base and about 20 feet at the top, with a height of considerably more than 100 feet.”
[165] Ante, p. 42.
[166] “Encyclopædia Britannica” (eighth edition), vol. xx. p. 639, “Steam Navigation.” The Savannah was full rigged as a sailing-vessel with auxiliary steam power, and her paddles were removable.
[167] Dr. Lardner, in his “Encyclopædia” and elsewhere, had more than once expressed the opinion that no steam-ship would ever be able to make so distant a voyage as that of crossing the Atlantic, without recoaling. Having entered on details with regard to this important question in a lecture he delivered at Liverpool in December 1835, I consider it desirable to give the following extract from it, as reported in the Liverpool Albion of the 14th of that month, the matter being one of considerable historical interest:
“Steam Communication with America.—Dr. Lardner then proceeded to observe that one of the grandest projects which had ever occupied the human mind was at present in the progress of actual accomplishment. He meant that of constructing a great highway for steam intercourse between New York and London. Part of the highway was in process of formation. It consisted of several stages—that of the railroad from London to Birmingham; that from Birmingham to Liverpool, and the steam intercourse with Dublin; but there was another stage—that from Dublin to Valentia—which had as yet hardly been thought of. Ireland was a country which, with all her political disadvantages, was blest by nature with a vast number of physical advantages, and among the rest he might reckon a vast number of excellent harbours. No country in the world could boast of so many fine and spacious ports, bays, and roadsteads. She had many harbours on her west coast, which would serve admirably as stations for steam conveyance across the Atlantic; but Valentia had been selected as the extreme westerly point suitable for that purpose. It was a fine anchoring ground by an island of that name on the coast of Munster. The distance from Dublin to this point was under 200 miles, which might be traversed in about eight hours. The nearest point of the Continent of North America to this point of Ireland was St. John’s in Newfoundland. The distance between the two was about 1900 miles, thence to Halifax in Nova Scotia there would be another run of 550 miles, and from that to New York would not exceed the admissible range; but touching at Halifax would be desirable for the sake of passengers. The only difficulty would be as to the run from Valentia to St. John’s; and the voyage from Dublin to Bordeaux and back, a distance of between 1600 and 1700 miles, with the same stock of coals, came very near this distance. It must be observed that westerly winds blew almost all the year round across the Atlantic. They were produced by the trade winds being the compensating cause that restored the balance which these served to destroy, according to that beautiful principle in nature which always provides a remedy for any derangement in the deranging cause itself. As a last resource, however, should the distance between Valentia and St. John’s prove too great, they might make the Azores a stage between, so that there remained no doubt of the practicability of establishing a steam intercourse with the United States. As to the project, however, which was announced in the newspapers of making the voyage directly from New York to Liverpool, it was, he had no hesitation in saying, perfectly chimerical, and they might as well talk of making a voyage from New York or Liverpool to the moon. The vessels which would ultimately be found the best adapted for the voyage between this country and the United States would be those of 800 tons, which would carry machines of 200 horse-power, and would be able to stow 400 tons of coal. To supply a 10 horse-power, daily required an expenditure of a ton of coals, and, consequently, 200 horse-power would require 20 tons of coal daily; but if the vessel carried 400 tons of coal only, it would not be practicable to undertake a voyage which would require the whole of that quantity. They must make an allowance of 100 tons for contingencies. Thus, in reckoning the average length of the voyage which might be undertaken by such a vessel, we might safely calculate upon 300 tons of coal, which would be sufficient for fifteen days, and it might fairly be concluded that any project which calculated upon making longer voyages than fifteen days without taking in a fresh supply of coals, in the present state of the steamboat, must be considered chimerical. Now, the average rate of speed of the Mediterranean packets was 170 miles per day, and the utmost limit of a steam voyage might be taken at 2550 miles; but even that could not be reckoned upon.”
It is, however, fair to the scientific memory of Dr. Lardner to state that, in the eighth and last edition of his “Steam-engine, Railways,” &c., 1851, pp. 294-309, he declares that he never stated that a “steam voyage across the Atlantic was a physical impossibility:” the more so, that he was of course well aware of the previous voyages of the Savannah and Curaçoa; what he did say (especially at the meeting of the British Association at Bristol in 1836) was “that the long sea voyages which were contemplated could not be maintained with that regularity and certainty which are indispensable to commercial success by any revenue which could be expected from traffic alone, and that, without a government subsidy of a considerable amount, such lines of steamers, although they might be started, could not be permanently maintained.”
[168] The Royal William was between 400 and 500 tons, built at Three Rivers, Canada, and her engines, constructed in England, were fitted into her at St. Mary’s Foundry, Montreal. She only made this one Atlantic passage and was subsequently sold to the Portuguese Government.
[169] It is only due to the memory of the late Mr. MacGregor Laird, who, with his brother, the late Mr. John Laird, M.P. for Birkenhead, did so much to encourage Ocean steam navigation in its infancy, to state that the Sirius was placed on the Transatlantic service on his recommendation, and that, so early as 1836, he was chiefly instrumental in founding the British and American Steam Navigation Company which chartered this vessel from the St. George Company. See letter from Mr. A. Hamilton of St. Helen’s Place, London, “the friend and executor of the late Mr. MacGregor Laird,” which appeared in the Shipping and Mercantile Gazette of the 15th May, 1873: in this paper, also, appears a copy of a letter which Mr. Laird, under the signature of “Chimera,” addressed to the Liverpool Albion on the 28th December, 1835, in reply to Dr. Lardner’s fallacious prognostications that a steam voyage across the Atlantic was “perfectly chimerical,” from which I take the following extract:
“By what process of reasoning Dr. Lardner has fixed the ultimate size of steam-vessels for the Atlantic at 800 tons and 200 horse-power does not appear, which is the more to be regretted, as it must be a peculiar one, from the size of the vessels very little exceeding that of several in the coasting trade, and the power being much less; but I am not bound to take this for granted, particularly as all my experience has proved that we as yet have never had to complain of the size of the vessel if the power has been proportionately increased; on the contrary, the Dublin boats have crept up from 250 to 500 and 600, and the Clyde from 200 to 400 tons, and other lines in the same proportion. In reasoning, therefore, upon a line of steam communication between Great Britain and New York, I must reason from analogy, and fortunately Dr. Lardner gives me the data. The Leeds, it appears, makes the voyage to and from Bordeaux, a distance of 1600 miles, with one supply of coals. The Leeds is, I believe, 420 tons and 140 horse power, and her displacement between her light and load marks will be about 80 tons to one foot, or perhaps only 70. Now, the distance from Liverpool or Portsmouth to New York is 3000 nautical miles or 3500 statute miles, a little less to Liverpool. Suppose the Leeds be trebled in capacity, so that her displacement should exceed 200 tons per foot draught, it is not necessary to treble her power, as double power propels more than double bulk: but allow her 300 horse-power, her light draught of water would be about 11 feet with her machinery on board, and with 800 tons of dead weight on board, about 15. I take the consumption of coals at 30 tons per day, and a mean speed of 10 miles per hour, and at an expenditure of 525 tons of common coal, or 420 of Langennich, I land my passengers in New York, Portsmouth, or Liverpool in something less than fifteen days. I have not allowed anything in this calculation for the saving of fuel that would accrue in these large engines by working them expansively, but have taken the consumption at 9½ lbs. per horse per hour, and with common coal I would have a surplus of 275 tons dead weight for passengers and goods. One objection will, I am aware, be made, viz., that my average speed is too great, and if I admitted that the beau idéal of a steam-vessel was embodied in one of His Majesty’s Mediterranean steam-packets the objection would be fatal; but what is the fact? (no less wonderful than true), the average speed of private vessels far exceeds them; and, to prove that the average speed of 10 miles per hour is not ‘chimerical,’ I may state that the average speed of the Dundee and Perth, in all weathers, winter and summer, fair or foul, exceeds 11 miles per hour; that the average speed of the Monarch is 10½ miles per hour; and that the Medea steam-frigate averaged more than 10 miles per hour on her voyage to Malta. Now, I am of opinion that the Dundee, Perth, Monarch, and Medea are to be, and will be, beat, but not by vessels of 800 tons and 200 horse-power. I hope, Mr. Editor, I have proved that it is easier to go from Portsmouth or Liverpool to New York than to the moon; that it is more convenient to go direct than through the first ‘gem of the sea;’ and the last, though not the least consideration, that if we wish to go at all by steam, we had better not wait for the Valentia Railway.”