FOOTNOTES:
[207] See Annual Register, 1854, page 162.
[208] One reason why such ships as the President and Pacific have left no trace of their fate is, that they have foundered almost instantaneously in deep water; the result of this would be that all the wood in them, including their boats, would be carried down with them, the wood being at the same time made so heavy by the water forced into its pores, that it could never again float to the surface.
[209] The Persia is 3766 tons gross register, being 350 feet length of keel for tonnage, 45 breadth of beam, and 30 feet depth of hold, with a mean draught of water of 20 feet. She has side-lever engines of 917 nominal horse-power, working up at sea to 3600 indicated horse-power.
[210] Shortly after the Persia was dispatched, Mr. Vanderbilt of New York launched a ship which he named after himself calculated to surpass in speed any steamer then afloat, but, on the authority of the Philadelphia Ledger, she was defeated by the Persia by thirteen hours on a passage of 3068 nautical miles across the Atlantic, the average speed returned on this occasion being: Vanderbilt, 13·86 nautical, or 15·98 statute miles per hour; and that of the Persia, 13·95 nautical, or 16·08 statute miles per hour. Through the courtesy of the owners of the latter ship I am enabled to furnish ([Appendix No. 9, pp. 603-5]) an abstract of her voyages from the 1st of January, 1856, to the 31st of December, 1867, condensed.
Comparative Statement of Average Sailings of various Transatlantic Steamers during the Year 1856.
| Liverpool to New York. | New York to Liverpool. | |
|---|---|---|
| Cunard (Boston) | 13·07 days | 11·12 days |
| Cunard (New York) | 12·67 days | 11·03 days |
| Collins | 12·16 days | 12·03 days |
| Bremen | 15·00 days | 14·12 days |
| Old Havre | 14·18 days | 13·16 days |
| Havre (Vanderbilt) | 13·00 days | 13·00 days |
| Havre (French) | 17·00 days | 15·00 days |
| Glasgow | 15·12 days | 13·08 days |
| Hamburg | 15·12 days | 16·00 days |
[212] The dimensions of the Scotia are, length of keel and forerake, 367 feet (nearly twice the length of the Britannia); breadth of beam moulded, 47½ feet; depth for tonnage, 30½ feet; gross register 3871 tons. Her engines are 975 nominal horse-power, but she works at sea up to 4200 horse-power. The diameters of her two cylinders are respectively 100 and 144 inches. Her paddle-wheels are upwards of 40 feet in diameter, and her bunkers contain 1800 tons of coal. The weight of iron in her hull alone is 2800 tons. On her trial trip she attained a speed of 19 statute miles an hour. Her cost ready for sea was 170,000l., but labour, iron, and other materials have risen considerably in price since she was contracted for in 1860.
[213] “The Steam Fleet of Liverpool,” p. 17.