LIFE-PRESERVERS

LIFE-PRESERVERS.

ALTHOUGH it too frequently happens that an accident which materially endangers the life of an individual, deprives him, in the meantime, of that presence of mind which alone would enable him to take proper measures for his safety; yet to have meditated, in an interval of leisure, upon the best method of proceeding in case of emergency, must tend greatly to diminish the embarrassment and confusion that commonly accompany the accident, even if it should not be thought necessary to provide any particular apparatus for the purpose of escaping the danger. There are also many ways in which those who are not immediately involved in the disaster may contribute to the preservation of life, whether actuated by interest, or by humanity only; and the modes of relief will therefore be naturally divided into the internal and the external, whether relating to fires or to shipwrecks.

Internal Fire-Escapes.—Whenever a family establishes itself in a residence not detached from others, it becomes of importance to ascertain what facilities the house affords for ascending to the roof, and for passing to those of the neighbouring houses. It is scarcely possible that a conflagration should extend at once to the contiguous houses on each side, before the inhabitants of the house in question

have had time to escape. But in a detached house, if there are not two or more staircases remote from each other, and even in a house contiguous to others, when there is no facility of communicating by the roof, it becomes highly expedient to provide some internal means of escaping through the windows in case of fire, and to have on every floor a strong rope, with a hook or a loop at the end, by which it may be fastened to a bed-post, so as to enable an active person to descend by its help out of the window, finding from time to time a partial footing in the inequalities of the wall. This process will be greatly facilitated by having the rope knotted at intervals of about a foot throughout its length; the knots being nearly as convenient as the blocks or clips that are sometimes made for the purpose of retarding the descent, by holding them, and regulating the friction by the pressure of the hand; unless the clip be attached to a strong cross bar, on which a person may sit, while he regulates the position of the clip by its handles, and allows himself to descend with more or less velocity at pleasure. The arrangement for this purpose may be made by a roller, or pipe, sliding on the rope, and pushed down so as to open the handles of the clip and tighten its teeth

¹ Emerson's Mechanics, figs. 228, 229; Leupold's Theatrum Machinarum, plate liv.

Life-Preservers. when the person holds by the roller and draws it down (fig. 1); and, on the contrary, the clip may be opened by pressing on the handles with the other hand, or with the thighs; or any other simple mode of regulating the clip may be adopted, provided that it be not liable to be misunderstood, or misapplied, in a moment of confusion. After all, a rope-ladder would perhaps be preferable, as not being liable to be deranged; it is often kept ready made in the shops; and, in the absence of any other rope, a common bed-cord will generally be found strong enough to support the weight even of a stout man; for a quarter-inch rope may be safely trusted with 2 cwt., and ought indeed to support three times as much, if new and of good quality.

In speaking of the duty of providing internal means of escape, Mr Baddeley remarks, that "egress can sometimes be made at the top of a house, either by a door or by an opening made in the roof with a poker for the purpose. Sheets and blankets tied together and fastened to the bed-post, or the bed-cords attached in the same way, afford the means of descending; the feather-bed, &c., thrown out serve to break the fall when jumping from the window as the last alternative. With a little contrivance, women and children may be lowered by means of the bed-clothes. Upon these occasions, all depends upon the persons in danger retaining so much presence of mind as will enable them to avail themselves of the best means in their power; and it often happens that pressing danger develops a great deal more ingenuity and intrepidity in individuals than they have previously taken credit for."

External means of escape from fire.—The external means to be employed in cases of conflagration must be provided by the managers of fire-offices, or by other public officers; and every ingenious workman whom they may employ will be able, at his leisure, to devise such apparatus as he can the most conveniently execute, and to give it a full trial in the absence of all danger; it will therefore only be advisable that he should compare for himself the particular inventions which have been suggested for this purpose, and that he should choose from among them such as he thinks most likely to do him credit; and he may, indeed, very possibly find means of improving on any of them.

In Leupold's Theatrum Machinarum (plates liv. lv.), we find the representation of a chair calculated to be drawn up or down by means of pulleys. Mr Varcourt obtained, in 1761, the approbation of the Parisian Academy of Sciences for his invention of a hollow mast, fixed in a waggon, and supporting a stage, with the means of ascending and descending. (Hist. p. 158.) In the beginning of the present century, a fire-escape of Mr Audibert was approved by the Parisian Institute. (Mém. Inst. iv.) A committee was also appointed for examining several similar inventions at the Lyceum of Arts, and a medal was awarded by it to Mr Daujon, for his apparatus, which consists of a platform carried on wheels, supported by three frames, with brass wires, on which boxes are made to slide up and down for the conveyance of persons or of furniture. (Annales des Arts. Repertory ii., vol. i., p. 439.) Mr Collin's invention of pipes raised by ropes, and affording a centre to a long lever, is described in the fourth volume of the American Transactions, and in the Repertory (vol. xv., p. 35). In the thirty-first volume of the Transactions of the Society of Arts for 1813 (p. 244), we have an account of a fire-escape

invented by Mr Adam Young, for which he received a medal from the society. It appears to constitute by far the most portable of ladders, consisting of cross bars or rounds connected by ropes, and having their ends fitted together, so as to form a pole, which is readily elevated to the window; and the rounds being separated, and the hooks at the end properly fixed to the window-frame, the whole forms itself into a very convenient ladder of a mixed structure. The thirty-fourth volume, for 1816 (p. 227), contains a description of Mr Braby's fire-escape, consisting of a car made to slide on a strip of plank fixed to a pole, and governed by a rope, which is cased with iron, to protect it, in case of necessity, from the effect of the fire.

The fire-escape in use in the metropolis is founded on the invention of Mr John Davies, submitted to the Society of Arts in 1809. It consists of three ladders connected to, and sliding upon, each other by means of ropes worked by a small windlass; a second windlass raises and lowers a cradle, which is supported by ropes passing over pulleys at the top of the uppermost ladder. This machine is mounted upon a low four-wheeled truck, and can be drawn by a horse, or by six men. As improved by Mr Gregory, the three ladders sliding on each other, when lowered, are balanced horizontally on a frame, mounted on a light four-wheeled carriage, so as to be run under low gateways, &c. The ladders being brought into a nearly vertical position, are raised by a small windlass in front of the machine to any height between 10 and 40 feet; when the ladders are inclined towards the window, and the top one made to rest against the sill. A greater elevation than 40 feet may be obtained by means of joints fixed at the top, and a cradle is also used for those who are too timid to descend ladders.

A great many other forms of fire-escape might be noticed, for it is one of those subjects which readily appeal to the ingenious mechanic in a large city where fires are numerous; and every form of fire-escape must at times fail. Hence there has been a sort of competition among uneducated inventors, who have displayed some mechanical ingenuity, but have not, as far as we are aware, developed any new principle.

The modes of extinguishing fires are not precisely the object of the present inquiry. The engines employed for the purpose are described under HYDRODYNAMICS. Within the last few years, an apparatus called a fire-anihilator has attracted some attention; its object is to generate a large amount of gaseous matter, which will not support combustion, and which being injected into the burning mass, is to extinguish the fire by displacing the air. The non-supporting gases are generated by means of chlorate of potash and sugar contained in a perforated cylinder, and ignited, when required, by crushing a small glass vessel containing sulphuric acid. There is also a contrivance for saturating the gases with moisture.

Many attempts have been made to prevent fires by rendering houses fire-proof, either by coating the timber with some unflammable substance, or by rejecting combustible substances altogether in building. The Earl of Stanhope's method of fire-proofing consisted in the use of non-combustible materials, with, among, and between the timbers forming the frame-work of a house. Many other methods have been proposed for coating the timbers with plaster, covering the houses with fire-proof paint, soluble glass, &c. We do not attach much importance to these inventions, for if the house contain goods and furniture of an inflammable kind, and the fire once obtain an ascendancy over them, the house will scarcely escape destruction. In the construction of floors and roofs, Messrs Fox and Barrett propose to substitute for timber joists of iron, and successive layers of incombustible materials, such as mortar, concrete, &c., the floors being finished with a smooth and uniform

Life-Preservers. surface of lime and sand well trowelled up to a face, and coated with linseed oil; while the roofs are finished with a coating of coal-tar, paper, and sand, instead of the ordinary timber and slate. Mr Frost proposes for the floors of rooms to use hollow earthenware tubes, embedded in cement, and so combined as to cover the whole floor. Mr Loudon recommends that the floors be formed of flat tiles and cement. Mr Payne proposes to render timber fire-proof by means of a solution of sulphuret of barium or of calcium, forced into the timber by appropriate apparatus, and then adding an acid or a solution of some substance, such as sulphate of iron, which unites with the barium or calcium, and sets free the sulphur. Iron joists and girders have been largely used in the construction of fire-proof buildings; but it has been shown by Mr Braidwood, that a fire originating in the goods stored in these so-called fire-proof warehouses sometimes produces a temperature nearly equal to the melting point of cast-iron; while the jets of water from the fire-engines crack and bring down beams and columns of cast-iron which are used in supporting the upper floors, so as really to cause a greater destruction of life and property than timber beams, which resist the fire for a considerable time, and permit the inmates to escape, and the firemen to penetrate the building with their branches and water-hose, which they are sometimes forbidden to do if the building is known to have iron-girders. A better plan for fire-proof buildings seems to be the use of groined brick arches, supported by pillars of brick laid in cement.

Internal Means of Escape from Shipwreck.—The means of escaping from shipwreck may be similarly divided into internal and external, or into the precautions to be taken by the ship's company, and the measures to be adopted by persons on shore. The internal means depend either on enabling the individuals to swim or float, or establishing a connection with the shore by ropes; and of the former, we may first consider those which require no particular preparation before the occurrence of the accident that calls them into action, and which are, therefore, the most universally applicable.

Of such expedients, the most effectual appear to be those which depend on the employment of empty water-casks for assisting the ship's company to drift on shore. 1. A paper on the arrangement of water-casks, to serve as floats in case of shipwreck, appears in the publications of the Society for the Improvement of Naval Architecture, dated in 1796 (vol. ii., p. 51). 2. In 1818, Mr Grant of Bideford obtained a gold medal from the Society of Arts, for the invention of a life-preserver, consisting of a thirty-six gallon cask, with some iron ballast fixed on a wooden bed, and lashed to the cask, and with ropes round it for the men to hold; and it was found that ten men were supported by it with convenience in tolerably smooth water, the bung of the cask being well secured by cork (vol. xxxvi., p. 63). The ballast could be of very little use, and a cask simply tied round with a rope, like a common parcel, would probably answer the purpose equally well. It would, indeed, be prudent for every ship in a storm, on a lee shore, to have a few of her casks well emptied and stopped, and tied in this manner, before the actual occurrence of imminent danger. 3. In the thirty-seventh volume of the Transactions of the Society (p. 110), there is an account of Mr Cook's life-raft, consisting of a square frame with canvas nailed across it, supported by a cask at each corner, for which the gold medal was voted to him. 4. It is followed by a description of Lieutenant Rodger's life-raft (p. 112), which obtained a similar compliment. This raft has the advantage of requiring only such materials as are usually found on board of every ship; capstan-bars, boat-masts, yards, or any other spars of moderate dimensions, which are tied together so as to make a sort of waggon frame, with a large cask fixed on each side; it appears to

afford a very convenient support to the men, but it can scarcely possess any great strength for resisting the force of the breakers.

Life-Preservers. Mr J. Bremner, a clergyman in the Orkneys, had received a medal from the Society in 1810, for his method of converting any ship's boat into a life-boat by putting into it three or four casks lashed to the keel, which is to have ring-bolts fixed in it for receiving the ropes by which the casks are fastened; he gives particular directions for making all the necessary arrangements, in the twenty-eighth volume of the Transactions (p. 134); he particularly advises that no use should be made of the natural buoyancy of the cavity of the boat, but that the bottom should be perforated without hesitation, wherever the hole would afford any additional facility for fixing a rope. Captain Manby's jolly-boat, fitted as a life-boat, "at the expense of three pounds," seems to be comprehended among those preparations which are to be made previously to the voyage.

The buckling a soldier's canteen on his breast as an assistance to enable him to float, belongs to those temporary expedients which may occasionally be employed with advantage. Tying a hat in a pocket-handkerchief, and holding it as a float, has been recommended by Mr Lawson in the Philosophical Magazine (vol. xx., p. 362); he advises that the crown of the hat should be held downwards, and observes that a stick may be employed, to enable us to use two or four hats at once; but this method can only be adopted when the accident occurs in very still water.

The first and most obvious preparation for enabling a person to float, is the learning to swim. It is well known that swimming is scarcely ever sufficient to enable a seaman to reach the land from a ship that has been wrecked, without some assistance; and many have certainly been drowned from depending too much on their own strength; but for a momentary support, and to afford courage and presence of mind to seek for other aid, there is no question but that the faculty of swimming possesses an inestimable advantage. A boy generally learns to swim by the help of his schoolfellows better than by any general rules, and more agreeably than in a school of natation; but it may be of some use to observe, that the act of diving to the bottom and re-ascending, in tolerably shallow water, is much more easily performed by a beginner than that of simply supporting himself on the surface; and when he has thus acquired the feeling of the immediate effect of his arms in propelling and sustaining him, he soon finds out the means of employing his feet in their assistance. The art of swimming has, however, been systematically treated by Bachstrom, Kunst zu Schwimmen; 8vo, Berlin, 1742; by Thénot, Art de Nager, Paris 1711, and by Bernardi, Arte Ragionata del Nuoto, 2 vols. 4to. Naples, 1794.

It is easy to convince ourselves, by trials in a warm bath, without reference to Robertson's experiments (Phil. Trans. 1757), that a substance possessing a very small degree of buoyancy is sufficient to enable the human body to float without effort. In fact, when the chest is fully expanded, the thinnest and most bony person will commonly float in sea-water; but the effort of keeping the chest expanded is as fatiguing as any other muscular exertion; and when the chest collapses, the fattest people may be in danger of sinking, unless they have learned to swim. Sir William Hamilton, indeed, tells us that, in 1783, "a woman of Scilla, four months gone with child, was swept into the sea by the wave" accompanying the earthquake, "and was taken up alive, floating on her back at some distance, nine hours after; she had been used to swim; her anxiety and suffering, however, had arrived at so great a pitch, that just at the time that the boat which took her up appeared, she was trying to force her head under water, to put a period to her miserable existence."

In China, a frame of bamboo surrounding the person is used for a float, and the lightness and strength of this substance must well adapt it for the purpose; sometimes also a gourd is tied to a child, to secure its floating in case of accident. The inflated goat-skins used from time immemorial by the Arabs, or the seal-skins employed by the Chilians, have the disadvantage of being easily rent or torn by a rock or a spar; an objection which is also more or less applicable to all substances containing air; for example, to the air-jackets described in Leupold's Theatrum Pontificum, published about 1724. A float of a semicircular form was recommended by Ozanam, the author of the Reservations; and Baclstrom, in his Art of Swimming, proposed to float a troop of cavalry, by fixing cork to the saddles. The cork jacket of Gelacy is described in the History of the Parisian Academy of Sciences for 1757, and Lachapelle's Seaphander, which is considered an improvement on it, in the volume for 1765. In the year 1764 the attention of the British public was particularly called to the floating powers of cork, by some experiments which were made with cork jackets on the Thames, together with some comparative experiments on air-jackets; and Dr Wilkinson, in the Philosophical Transactions for 1765, describes some experiments by which he ascertained that about a pound of cork was amply sufficient to enable a man of ordinary size and make to float without effort. It is almost superfluous to enumerate the multitude of trifling variations that have been made in the arrangements of cork jackets and air-jackets, apparently for the purpose of exciting a momentary interest, though possibly from the best motives. Mr Bosquet advised a bag of cork shavings to be kept in readiness by each person; the Seaman's Friend was composed of two pieces of cork, united by straps; the Collinetta was a hollow vessel of copper, divided into cells; a "marine spencer" has been described by Mr Spencer, in the sixteenth volume of the Philosophical Magazine, consisting only of a number of old corks, arranged so as to form a girdle; and in 1806, Mr T. C. Daniel obtained a gold medal from the Society of Arts, for the invention of an apparatus of waterproof leather, surrounding the body, which, according to the testimonials he produced, had saved the lives of some persons who had been sailing in a pleasure-boat on a river. In smooth water, it has been suggested that throwing a foot-ball, with a small weight tied to it, to the person immersed, would often afford sufficient assistance; and, with respect to floating, there is no doubt that any of the assistances which have been proposed would be sufficient if they were at hand: but there is another object, to which it is necessary to attend, in cold, and even in temperate climates, that of supporting a temperature compatible with life and health, if the immersion is likely to be of long duration; and an additional provision of worsted stockings, jackets, and trousers, will be almost as essential, in such cases, as the means of obtaining buoyancy.

The invention of India-rubber cloth led to the introduction of inflated belts, the advantages of which, compared with cork, and other forms of belt, are their greater buoyancy compared with their bulk, and their greater portability, for, when emptied of air, they can be folded up, and packed into a small space. The objections to them are their liability to get punctured or torn, and to decay, from being put away damp; the metal valves by which they are inflated may also get out of order; during the hurry and confusion of a wreck they are liable to be only partially inflated, and the valves to be only half screwed up, so as to allow of the escape of the enclosed air.

Commander J. R. Ward, R.N., inspector of life-boats to the National Life-Boat Institution, has invented a belt with four compartments, which admit of being separately inflated, thus mitigating the danger arising from puncture or injury to the inflating valves; it has a buoyancy equal to

30 lb., and should two of its compartments be disabled, the remaining two would be sufficient to float the wearer. Life-Preservers.

For the rough purposes of ordinary boat-work, Commander Ward insists on the advantages of cork as a material for life-belts, and he has invented a form of belt, which has been selected by the National Life-Boat Institution for the use of its life-boats' crews. The buoyant power of each belt is from 20 to 24 lb.; the cork is uncovered, so that its quality can be seen, and it is divided into numerous narrow pieces, each of which is sewed separately to a strong linen or duck belt, which covers the body from the arm-pits to below the hips. The pieces of cork are distributed in two rows, one above, the other below the waist, and the belt is secured closely about the body by means of strings passed round the waist, between the two rows of cork. It is further secured by other strings, crossed over the shoulders. By this arrangement the trunk of the body is enveloped in cork, attached so as to be quite flexible, and to allow of the usual movements of the body without inconvenience, while it protects the body against injury from blows, and is a warm covering in cold weather.

Various forms of buoyant mattress have been contrived by Mr Laurie and others. As manufactured by Mr Silver, numerous waterproof tubes are partly distended with horsehair, woolen flocks, or cocoa-nut fibres, so that, should one or more of the tubes fail, the others may suffice to sustain the required weight on the water. The tubes are made up into mattresses, pillows, and floats,—the last to be placed under the thighs of boats. A mattress weighing 17 lb. sustains in the water 284 lb. A pillow sustains 28 lb. A mattress for emigrant vessels, sold at 9s., was proved at the Great Exhibition. It sustained 96 lb. in the water during five days, without being injured. Floating mattresses are also made, filled with cork shavings. In the Great Exhibition, Mr Rhind had various models of deck seats and benches for steamers, so constructed as to be readily formed into rafts, each of which was capable of sustaining eight persons.

For the second object which is desirable to a ship in distress, that of obtaining a safe communication with the shore, it has been usual of late years to rely principally on the humane exertions of persons who may be on the coast, and who may have made preparations for this purpose; and with this view, some instructions for properly co-operating in the measures to be adopted with Captain Manby's apparatus have been liberally distributed to all ships when they received their papers from some of the British custom-houses. There are, however, some simple expedients which may be adopted for this purpose by persons on board of the ship; for example, the making a kite with a pocket-handkerchief stretched over a hoop, and causing it to carry a cord to the lee shore, by means of which a stronger line, and at last a hawser, may be drawn by persons standing on the beach. A line may also sometimes be carried on shore by a cask, allowed to drift before the wind; and a bag has been recommended to be attached to such a cask, or to a buoy, in order to act as a sail, and to insure its crossing the surf. Mr Cleghorn was also rewarded, in 1814, by the Society of Arts, for the invention of a buoyant line, having a heart of cork, to obviate the inconvenience which would arise from its sinking and being dragged on the stones under the breakers; but he observes, that in heavy storms there is generally a current along shore which renders the method almost impracticable. (Transactions, xxxii., p. 181.) A Mr Wheatley assures us, in Captain Manby's Essay, that his own life, and that of eight other persons, was saved, in 1791, by a lead line, which was carried on shore by a Newfoundland dog that he happened to have on board, when two good swimmers had been drowned in the attempt to swim on shore. It had occurred to Lieutenant Bell, in 1791, that a rope might be thrown from a ship which had

Life-Preservers. struck, by means of a mortar carrying a heavy shot, and upon the principle of the gun harpoon; and he showed the practicability of the suggestion by an actual experiment, in which a deep-sea line was carried to a distance of about 400 yards. (Trans. Soc. Arts, xxv., p. 136.) He recommended that every ship should be provided with a mortar capable of carrying such a shot, and observed that it might be placed on a coil of rope to be fired, instead of a carriage. The line was to be coiled on handspikes, which were to be drawn out before the mortar was fired. In 1792 he received a premium of fifty guineas from the Society of Arts (Transactions, x., p. 204); and he obtained his promotion in the Ordnance as an acknowledgment of his merits. The shot was to weigh about 60 lb. or more, and the mortar 5 or 6 cwt. The experiments of the French artillery at Lafere were subsequent to those of Mr Bell, though they have sometimes been quoted as the first of the kind.

It has, however, generally been thought impracticable to manage a mortar with effect under the circumstances of actual shipwreck; and Mr Trengrouse has preferred a rocket, as more easily fired, and as having a smaller initial velocity than a shot, so that the rope would be less in danger of being broken by the impulse. He found that a rocket of 8 oz. carried a mackerel line 180 yards, and a 1 lb. rocket 212; and, in some experiments made under the inspection of the Society of Arts, a rocket $1\backslash frac\{1\}\{2\}$ inch in diameter carried a cord across the Serpentine River in Hyde Park. The musket is provided with a valve, to prevent the escape of the materials of the rocket, and it is to be fired with a little powder, without wadding. The whole apparatus is packed in a chest, containing from eight to twelve rockets, the musket, a life-spencer, a chair to traverse on a rope, a canvas bag, and a ball of wood to throw to a person swimming. Mr Trengrouse was complimented with a medal from the Society of Arts in 1820. (Vol. xxxviii., p. 161.)

External Means of Escape from Shipwreck.—The means to be employed by persons on shore, in cases of shipwreck, depend either on projecting a line over the ship, or on the use of a life-boat. Mr Bell had cursorily observed that a line might be carried over a ship from the shore by means of his mortar; but for the actual execution of this proposal, in a variety of cases, we are indebted to the meritorious exertions of Captain G. W. Manby, whose apparatus, according to the report of a committee of the House of Commons, dated in March 1810, appears "to be admirably adapted to its purpose, and to have been attended with the fullest success in almost every instance." In consequence of this report, Captain Manby was thought worthy of a parliamentary reward; and he afterwards published a description of his inventions, under the title of An Essay on the Preservation of Shipwrecked Persons, 8vo, London 1812. He had previously received a gold medal from the Society of Arts in 1808 (Transactions, xxvi., p. 209). His success makes it expedient to extract from his Essay a detailed description of the apparatus, and it will be easy to make it somewhat more intelligible by a slight alteration of the order of arrangement.

"The method of affixing a rope to a shot, for the purpose of effecting communication, when projected from a piece of ordnance over a stranded vessel, was at length succeeded in, by introducing a jagged piece of iron, with an eye at the top, into a shell, and securing it by filling the hollow sphere with boiling lead; and in another way, by drilling a hole through a solid ball, and passing a piece of iron, with an eye to it, as before described, to the bottom, where it should be well secured by riveting.

"To produce the means of connecting a rope to a shot, and prevent its being burnt, and rendering it 'irresistible' to the powerful inflammation of gunpowder, was the labour of infinite time, and the number of experiments to accom-

plish it is beyond all possible conception. Chains in every variety of form and great strength breaking, proved that it required not only an elastic, but a closer connected body. At length, some stout platted hide (fig. 2), woven extremely close to the eye of the shot, about 2 feet in length beyond the muzzle of the piece, and with a loop at the end to receive the rope, happily effected it.

"This method is certainly desirable, as the rope may, immediately [as] it is required, be affixed to the loop, and applied in service. The form of the platted hide may likewise be woven by twisting it in the manner that the lashes of whips or ropes are spun; there is another method, by passing the rope through a case of leather, taking the greatest care that it is so well secured at the eye of the shot, as to leave no room for the slightest play, as is represented by the annexed barbed shot (fig. 3).

"When the crews of the distressed vessel are incapable of availing themselves of the benefits arising from communication, they having previously lashed themselves in the rigging to prevent being swept away by the sea, which is repeatedly breaking over them, and when, from long fatigue and the severity of the storm (on which occasions it too frequently occurs), they totally lose the use of their limbs, and are rendered incapable of assisting themselves in the slightest degree—the advantages of this shot are, that, on its being projected over the vessel, and the people of the shore hauling it in, it firmly secures itself on some part of the wreck or rigging, by which a boat can be hauled to the relief of the distressed objects; and by the counterbarbs it is rendered impossible [that it should] give up its hold, or slip, while that part of the wreck remains to which it has secured itself.

"Among the many that have been saved by this shot, the following are testimonials of a few of the cases:—'We, the crew of the brig Nancy of Sunderland, do hereby certify that we were on board the said vessel when she was stranded on the beach of Yarmouth, on Friday morning, the 15th of December 1809, and compelled to secure ourselves in the rigging to prevent being swept away, the sea running so high over the vessel. And we do further declare and certify that Captain Manby, firing a rope with a hooked shot, securely holding on the wreck, enabled a boat to be hauled from the shore over the surf to our relief, otherwise we must inevitably have perished.' This certificate is attested by six signatures.

"Facilitating communication is at all times of importance; but when the stranded vessel is in momentary danger of going to pieces, this point becomes a consideration of extreme urgency. I feel a persuasion that this particular service can only be carried into effect by a small and light piece of ordnance, the range of which is consequently very inconsiderable, when compared with that of a large and heavier piece, as it is weight alone that conveys the rope. In order, therefore, to increase the powers of a shot projected from a small mortar, its natural form must be varied, so as to give it additional 'preponderance.' The annexed shape, in the form of a pear (fig. 4), has been used with the greatest success; for, by the increased weight, the shot's momentum and power over the line is in consequence considerably augmented in its range; and when made to fit the piece as close as possible, a great increase of velocity is likewise produced from that decrease of windage.

"Portability in the construction of a piece of ordnance (as just described) is the very essence of this service; and communication with the stranded vessel or wreck may be effected with a cord, by which cord a rope can be conveyed, and by that rope a hawser or cable sent to the distressed vessel; for this purpose the annexed was constructed" (fig. 5).

"A person completely equipped with every necessary apparatus to effect communication with a vessel driven on a lee-shore . . . the horseman, fully equipped, travelled a mile and a half, the howitzer was dismounted, and the line projected 153 yards, in six minutes.

"The application of a small piece of ordnance likewise offers particular advantages, capable of being employed from a boat to go to the assistance of a vessel grounded on a bar when running for a harbour, the necessity of which repeatedly occurs, and was twice witnessed at Blakey on the 10th of November 1810, when boats endeavoured to go to their relief, and were enabled to get out of the harbour on the ebb tide, within 20 yards of the vessel; but it was found impossible to approach them nearer. Had such boats been provided with a piece of this description, and the same firmly secured on a stout piece of plank, by the holes left at each corner of the iron bed, they might have projected a small rope, coiled in a crate or basket made to the form of the bow of the boat; and the persons in the boat, so provided, would not have remained the distressed spectators of the untimely end of their fellow-creatures, without being able to afford them the smallest relief, although so little was then wanted for that desirable purpose.

"Although advantages have been pointed out in the use of these small mortars, it is necessary to be kept in remembrance, that they are produced for particular services; as the nature of the coast, and circumstances attending the distressed vessel, will direct what piece is best adapted to the undertaking. To enable the mind to form a judgment of what can be effected by other pieces, the following are the minutes of experiments made with a 5½-inch brass mortar, stating the quantity of powder used, and distance the ropes were projected against a strong wind, at the angle of 17° (elevation): weight of the mortar and bed about 300 lb.:-

"With a short 8-inch mortar, the weight of which and bed was supposed to be about 700 lb.; the angles of elevation uncertain:-

"Directions for using the Apparatus.—When the rope (which should be pliant and well stretched) is brought on the beach or cliff opposite to the stranded vessel, the most even spot, and free from projecting stones, should be se-

lected to lay it on, and great care be taken that no two parts of it whatever overlay or even touch each other, nor must it be laid in longer lengths than of two yards. But to project a small line or cord, it will be necessary, if it is required, to contract the faler to half a yard at most, to avoid the jerk received at the end of each right line. The best method, with such a description of cord, is to lay it on the ground in the most short and irregular windings, to relieve it from this powerful impulse. To prove the effect of the impulse on a rope, if it is faked in lengths of 10 or 15 yards, it will break each time, as it then becomes a most powerful pendulum. These precautions are absolutely necessary to the success of the service.

"The following has, after various trials, been found a certain method of laying the rope, and placing it into compartments." (French Faking, fig. 6.)

"A particular attention to this mode will never fail with a good rope, when the impediments are removed that might otherwise obstruct its rapid flight. Its advantages are, that it will allow the eye rapidly (yet correctly, just before firing, which is absolutely necessary) to pass over the different compartments, and at once discover if any fake has been displaced by the storm, or by any other casualty or accident come in contact with another part, which would destroy its application by the rope breaking.

"It may likewise be coiled in the manner used in the whale fishery, whale lair (fig. 7); and in the method called chain faking (fig. 8):-

"It is, however, necessary to add, that great attention is required in laying it agreeably to the two latter methods, arising not only from the arm being liable to get under certain parts of the rope, and thereby displace it, but from the great anxiety of mind natural on these occasions, where the lives of fellow-creatures are literally dependent on the correctness with which the rope is laid; it is therefore extremely difficult, in a moment of agitation, to determine whether any overlay has taken place, an error that would infallibly destroy every endeavour, and occasion even the fate of those whose lives we might be exerting ourselves to preserve. Could persons in the performance of this service be always collected, the two latter methods would have a decided advantage over the first mode of faking, they being laid in a much less space of time.

"As all these methods of laying the rope occupy time to place it with the care necessary; and as it has repeatedly happened that vessels, very soon after grounding, have gone to pieces, and all hands perished; it was necessary to pro-

duce a method of arranging the rope, so that it could be immediately projected as soon as it arrived at the spot; and

Life-Preservers. none proved so effectual as when brought ready in a basket (fig. 9).

"In this case, the rope should be most carefully laid in alternate tiers or fakes, no part of it overlaying, and it should be well secured down, that in travelling it be not displaced; but, above all, no mistake must happen in placing the basket properly. For example, that the end of the basket, from which the shot hangs in the above figure, should be previously marked, and must be placed towards the sea or wreck, that the rope be delivered freely, and without any chance of entanglement. It will be scarcely necessary to add, there will be several tiers of the rope when laid. The utmost care and attention are required in laying the rope in tiers with strict regularity, to prevent entanglement."

"The next is the application of the mortar. If the wind is sideways to the shore, it must be pointed sufficiently to windward to allow for the slack of the rope lighting on the object, as the rope will, of course, be considerably borne to leeward by the effect of a strong wind, and by its being laid at a low elevation insures the rope falling against the weathermost part of the rigging. While this service is performing, great care should be taken to keep the mortar dry; nor should it be loaded until everything is ready; when that is done, it should be primed; but as it would be impossible to do it with loose powder in a storm, a tube is constructed in the simplest manner of common writing paper (the outer edge being cemented with a little gum) in this form (fig. 10). It is filled with meal gunpowder, made into paste with spirit of wine; when in a state of drying, run a needle through the centre, and take care the hole is left open, for, on the tube being inflamed, a stream of fire darts through the aperture with such force as to perforate the cartridge. The mortar should then instantly be fired; and in order to lessen a difficulty that has often occurred in performing this service, a pistol may be used, having a tin box over the lock, to exclude the effect of wind or rain on the priming; and the muzzle being cut [obliquely], dilates the inflammation, so as to require but little exactness in the direction of the aim.

"We will suppose the communication to be secured, although it is scarcely necessary to offer any other assistance than that of a rope, as the inventive genius of a sailor will supply everything else; yet I could expect the people on shore to get a boat ready for meeting the vessel when driven on a beach: it is the promptest and most certain method of relief, as well as the most easy to be accomplished; for by hauling her off with the rope projected, the boat's head is kept to the waves, and not only insures safety by rising to the surge, but prevents her upsetting."

"When the rope attached to the shot (not having barbs to it), is fired over the vessel and lodges, let it be secured by those on board, and made fast to some firm part of the rigging or wreck, that they may haul off a boat by it; but should there not be any boat, then haul on board by the projected rope a larger one, and a tailed block, through which a smaller rope is rove. Let the large rope be made fast at the mast-head, between the cap and the top of one of the lower masts, and the tailed block a little distance below it; but, if the masts should have been cut or carried away, then it must be made fast to the loftiest remaining part of the wreck. When this is done, there will be supplied from the shore a cot, hammock, netting, basket, hoop, or any of the numerous resources of seamen, which will run on the larger rope, and be worked by the people on shore. If a cot be used, the men may be so securely fastened to it as to preclude all possibility of falling out, and then be brought from the wreck, one by one, in perfect safety."

"While communication is gaining, three stakes should

Life-Preservers. be driven into the ground in a triangular position, so as to meet close at the heads to support each other. As soon as communication has been effected by the crew of the vessel, and they have secured the line attached to the shot, made fast to these stakes, the crew will haul on board by it a large rope and a tailed block, through which a smaller rope is to be rove, both ends of which (the smaller rope) are to be kept on shore. When they have secured these on board, and the larger rope is rove through the rollers, let a gun-tackle purchase be lashed to it, then lash the purchase to the stakes. By the means of the purchase the larger rope may be kept at a fit degree of tension; for, if care be taken to slacken the purchase as the ship rolls out to sea, the danger of the rope being broken will be guarded against; and, on the other hand, if the purchase be gathered in as the ship rolls toward the shore, the slackness of the rope, which would prevent the cot (fig. 11) traversing as it ought to do, and plunge it in the water more than it otherwise would, will be avoided."

"Supposing neither boat nor cot apparatus at hand, first cast off the shot from the projected rope, and with a close hitch, let it be put over the head and shoulders of the person to be saved, bringing it close under each arm, drawing it tight, observing particularly the knot is on the breastbone; for, by having the knot in that position, on the people of the shore hauling the person from the wreck, he will naturally be on his back, consequently, the face will be uppermost to seize every moment for respiration, after each surf has passed over the body. If circumstances compel recourse to this method, care must be taken to free the rope from any part of the wreck, and to jump clear away; but should there be more than one on board, each man should make himself fast in the same way, about four feet from the other, and join hands, all attending to the same directions."

"For giving Relief to Vessels Stranded on a Lee Shore in a Dark and Tempestuous Night.—It will be requisite, first, to devise the means of discovering precisely where the distressed vessel lies, when the crew are not able to make their situation known by luminous signals; secondly, to produce a method of laying the mortar for the object, with as much accuracy as in the light; thirdly, to render the flight of the rope perfectly distinguishable to those who project it, and to the crew on board of the vessel, so that they cannot fail of seeing on what part of the rigging it lodges, and consequently have no difficulty in securing it."

"To attain the first object, a hollow ball was made to the size of the piece, composed of layers of pasted cartridge paper of the thickness of half an inch, having a lid on the top to contain a fuze (fig. 12), and it was then filled with about fifty luminous balls of star composition, and a sufficient quantity of gunpowder to burst the ball and inflame the stars. The fuze fixed in the ball was graduated, to set fire to the bursting powder at the height of 300 yards. Through the head of the fuze were drilled

holes, at equal [distances], to pass through them strands of quick match, to prevent the possibility of any accident from the match falling out, or from its not firing the fuse. On the stars being released, they continued their splendour, while falling, for near one minute, which allow ample time to discover the situation of the distressed vessel. During the period of the light, a stand, with two upright sticks (fig. 13), (painted white, to render them more discernible in the dark), was ready at hand, and pointed in a direct line to the vessel.

"A shell affixed to the rope, having four holes in it to receive a like number of fuzes (headed as before described), and filled with the fiercest and most glaring composition, which, when inflamed at the discharge of the piece, displayed so splendid an illumination of the rope, that its flight could not be mistaken."

"To get a Boat from a Beach over the Surf."—The importance of going to the relief of ships in distress at a distance from the land, or for taking off pilots, was viewed as of the highest consequence by the elder brethren of the Trinity House, and offered to my particular attention by several distinguished characters. After numerous experiments to accomplish it in various ways, the mode following was most approved:—About forty fathoms of 2½-inch rope, made fast to two moving anchors, was laid out parallel with the shore, at a distance beyond the sweep of the surf; to the centre of this rope was made fast a buoy, of sufficient power to suspend the great rope, and prevent it from chafing on the sand, rock, or stones, as well as embedding, a circumstance that has rendered it impossible, on a sandy or shingly coast, to heave out an anchor with a rope to it from the shore. As this service should be performed in fair weather (to be prepared for the storm), it may be regulated with the greatest exactness, and should take place at the top of high-water, that the upper part of the buoy may be at the full stretch of its power, and only seen at that time. Should the shore be extremely flat, it will be desirable to place another set at a sufficient distance beyond the first, to insure the operation of this method in any state of the tide.

"The royal mortar being brought to the spot, is to be pointed in the direction for the buoy, and should be laid at a very low elevation, but such as to insure the range; for the more it is depressed, the less slack of rope there will be from the parabola formed in the shot's flight; the basket with the rope ready laid (having a barbed shot to it) is to be placed in the front of the mortar; on its being fixed, instantly haul the slack of the rope in, to prevent the

effect produced on it by a strong tide; which being done, let the remainder be gently hauled in, to insure the shot's

grappling with the great rope; when that is caught and Life-Preservers. hooked, a power will be acquired fully adequate to the service.

"As a cast-iron anchor appears particularly adapted to this method, and would be much cheaper than hammered, fig. 14 is a plan of one which the Honourable the Navy Board approved, and allowed me to cast at their expense, for the purpose of making the experiment."

"When a vessel is in that extreme and perilous situation, driven under a rugged and inaccessible cliff, and in danger of going soon to pieces, the most prompt method I should suggest is, by lowering to the crew a rope with stiff loops spliced into it (fig. 15), at the distance of a foot and a half from each loop, of sufficient size to contain the foot, by which they can ascend as a ladder.

"This rope-ladder is capable of being projected; and one of an inch and half' rope was thrown from a mortar 194 yards. It might also, from the simplicity of its structure, be extremely useful in escaping from a house on fire. By making one end fast to the leg of a bed or a table, the person would come down from the window in safety, and with much less difficulty, and quicker, than with the common rope-ladder, which is heavier and more unwieldy. It has great advantages when employed in saving shipwrecked men in situations just described, when, from extreme cold, and almost benumbed limbs, it would be impossible for them to climb up a rock, or ascend it even by the aid of a common rope. The holds, thus spliced in, will support both hands and feet."

The Report of the Committee of the House of Commons contains also a paper of instructions for the managers of Captain Manby's apparatus on shore, which are somewhat more minute than the directions published in his Essay. For example:—

"If the wind be sideways to the shore, the mortar must be pointed sufficiently to windwards to allow for the slack of the rope lighting on the object, as the rope will, of course, be borne considerably to leeward by the effect of a strong wind."

"The distance your judgment decides the vessel to be from the shore should regulate the charge of powder as stated in the scale, taking just a sufficient quantity to clear the object: an attention to this will be more certain of your effecting communication, and guarding against the danger of the rope breaking, or any other circumstance that might prevent the successful performance of the service. The elevation of fifteen degrees is to be preferred, particularly if the wind is sideways, pointing the mortar sufficiently to windward, as the rope would then fall against the weathermost part of the rigging of the stranded vessel."

"When a vessel is driven on shore in the night, you will flash gunpowder as often as convenient on your way; this will animate the crew, and denote to them you are coming to their assistance. On getting to the spot where you have reason to suspect the vessel lies, as you are not able to discover her from the extreme darkness, and if the people on board cannot [make known] their situation by luminous signals or noises (which they will be directed to make if possible), you will lay the mortar at a very high elevation, and fire a light ball."

"Just before you fire (the rope) it would be advisable to let off a blue light to put the crew on their guard, to look out, and be ready to secure the rope. The service can be performed with a carronade."

In chap. iv. we have a copy of directions to persons on board vessels stranded on a lee-shore, proposed to be delivered to the masters at the custom-house. It is observed, that even snapping a pistol, when the powder is wet, may sometimes afford a signal visible on shore, from the sparks

Life-Preservers. of the steel alone. The other parts of the directions will be supplied by those who understand the principles of the proposed mode of relief.

Rockets have of late years been much employed instead of the mortar, in Manby's apparatus for throwing a line to a ship in distress. "Dennett's Rocket Apparatus" is supplied to many stations along the coast. The only advantage which the rocket has over the mortar is its greater portability; for, being much lighter, it can be used with greater facility amongst rocky cliffs, and in positions difficult of access. The disadvantages of rockets are, that they are somewhat uncertain, sometimes exploding as soon as ignited, to the danger of the bystanders; and they are also liable to deteriorate from the effects of damp or of age. Moreover, being expensive, they cannot be often employed in trials, so as to keep up the practice of the people employed in using them. The range of a shot from a 24-lb. mortar, which is the ordinary size, is about the same as that of a 12-lb. rocket, which is the largest in use. As the management of the mortar and rocket apparatus is much better understood by the officers and men of the coast-guard service than by ordinary boatmen and fishermen, it has been almost entirely left in their hands, and is provided by the Board of Customs. There are in England 132 mortar and rocket stations; in Scotland, 15; in Ireland, 22.

Several inventions, or variations, in the Manby apparatus may be just glanced at. M. G. Delvigne uses a howitzer instead of a mortar, while a portion of the line to be carried is contained in the projectile. Mr Greener has a method of discharging a rocket, with a line attached, from a light harpoon gun. When discharged, the rocket ignites, and is said to prolong the range to a greater distance than if the gun or the rocket were alone employed. Captain Jerningham, R.N., has an anchor of a particular form, which he proposes to fire from a Manby's mortar, in sufficient numbers to afford the means of hauling a life-boat through the surf. Mr A. G. Carte employs a war-rocket instead of a Dennett's rocket.

Life-boat. The last description of the inventions to be considered, with regard to the preservation of lives in cases of shipwreck, is that of life-boats, which are of such a construction as to be incapable of sinking, even when filled with water. The occasional adaptation of the common boats of the ship to such purposes, by means of empty casks, has been already noticed. But the boats now in question are supposed to be kept on shore at proper stations, and manned by active persons, who are in the habit of exerting themselves for the relief of seamen in distress.

Mr Henry Greathead, of South Shields, received a gold medal and fifty guineas from the Society of Arts, in 1802, and a parliamentary reward of £1200, besides further remunerations from the Trinity House, and from Lloyd's Coffee-House, for his invention of a life-boat, which is described in the Transactions of the Society, vol. xx., p. 283. The length of this boat is 30 feet, its breadth 10, and its greatest depth about 3, besides a general curvature, which nearly doubles the depth, as reckoned from the ends; the convexity below being intended to give it a greater facility of turning, and a greater power of mounting on the waves without submersion of the bow, which would increase the resistance, though it would not sink the boat; the breadth is also continued further than usual fore and aft, in order

to contribute to the same property. The gunwale projects some inches, and the sides below it are cased with pieces of cork, amounting in the whole to 7 cwt., which are secured by plates of copper. There are ten short oars of fir, fixed on pins to the gunwale, and a longer oar for steering at each end, both ends of the boat being alike. It is painted white, in order to be more conspicuous; and a carriage is provided, for conveying it overland when required. The description is accompanied by documents of the preservation of 200 or 300 men by the boats of South Shields and North Shields, which were built in 1789 and 1798 respectively.

Mr Christopher Wilson received a gold medal in 1807, for a life-boat with air gunwales, which was tried at Newhaven, and was said to be lighter and more manageable than Mr Greathead's. (Transactions, xxv. 55.)

"Little is required," says Captain Manby, "to establish the importance and advantages that will result from giving every boat the properties of a life-boat, particularly when taken into consideration that it can be produced at a very trifling expense."

To illustrate the method of giving the properties of preservation to any boat,—a man of war's jolly boat, for example,—we quote the description of the one which was fitted up to make experiments thereon, by permission of the Honourable Commissioners of the Navy Board.

"To give it buoyancy, empty casks were well lashed and secured in it. For the advantage of keeping it in an upright position, launching from a flat shore, beaching, and to resist upsetting, it had billage boards of equal depth with the keel, and when a good sized piece of iron or lead was let into or made fast to the keel, if any accident did upset the boat, it immediately regained its original posture. A stout projecting rope, with swellings upon it to increase its elasticity, surrounded the gunwale, served as a fender, and prevented it being stoved in lowering down, or when driven in contact with the vessel it might be going to relieve.

"The boat thus described had the plug out, and was filled with water until it ran over the gunwale, when a crew of four, with myself, tried it in every way, and found, from the buoyant property of the casks, it kept the boat so much above the water's edge, that it was rowed with the greatest ease, and was capable of performing any service required."

Mr J. Boyce, in 1814, obtained a medal for his life-boat and safety-buoy, consisting of hollow cylinders made of canvas painted and varnished, and connected with each other. It was tried on a river, and carried a man with safety (Trans. xxxii. 177); but surely it could not be trusted among breakers on a lee shore. In 1818 Mr Gabriel Bray obtained a silver medal for his invention of a boat filled with air-boxes under the seats and along the sides. (Vol. xxxv., p. 172.)

Of late years the subject of life-boats has attracted considerable attention, from the circumstance of the increasing number of wrecks, consequent on the rocky nature of our shore, and the vast and increasing amount of our commerce. The exertions, too, of the National Life-Boat Institution¹ have had a powerful influence in directing attention to this subject. The attention of the public is also kept alive by the publication of a journal entitled The Life-Boat, which, in addition to statistical returns of shipwrecks, contains information on every subject connected with the preservation of life from shipwreck. One of the publications of the so-

¹ This society, founded in 1824, is under the patronage of her Majesty, and the presidency of his Grace the Duke of Northumberland. The object is to assist every wrecked person in the kingdom, by such means as the establishment of life-boats and rocket-mortars at all the dangerous parts of the coast; to assist in the formation of local committees at the chief ports; to confer rewards in the form of medals, votes of thanks, or pecuniary remuneration to all persons risking their lives for the sake of others; and also to encourage the invention of new or improved life-boats, belts, rocket apparatus, buoys, and other means of saving life. This admirable society is dependent on voluntary subscriptions for its existence and support. That the society has worked with some success, may be judged of from the fact, that since its establishment it has been instrumental in saving the lives of 9682 persons; it has granted 79 gold medals, and 556 silver medals, besides pecuniary rewards, amounting to £19631.

ciety is a Wreck Chart of the British Islands, originally published by the Admiralty. A vessel wrecked on our coasts is indicated by a black spot $\backslash bullet$, while a vessel so seriously damaged as to require to discharge her cargo is indicated by $+$; and the number of such marks at any one spot indicates the annual average of wrecks, which may be large because the coast is dangerous, or because the traffic is great. Thus, the mouth of the Tyne shows a larger number of black dots and crosses than any other place; the mouth of the Tees and the mouth of the Weir occupy the next places of distinction in this dismal chart: these three rivers being the outlets of the district by which London is supplied by sea with three million tons of coal every year, giving employment to several thousand collier ships, which sail to and fro, and greatly add to the otherwise large trade of the Northumberland and Durham ports. The coast of these two counties indicates per annum 180 wrecks, sinkings, and serious collisions. The mouth of the Humber, the coast of Suffolk between Yarmouth and Southwold, the sandy shoals off the mouth of the Thames, the Goodwin Sands, the Scilly Isles, Barnstable Bay, and Liverpool, rank as the next dangerous portions of the English coast. The Welsh coast is also dangerous, especially Glamorgan, Pembroke, and Anglesea. Scotland, except near the Firth of Forth, is comparatively free from wrecks, the western coast remarkably so, probably from being less exposed to the winds, which tend to drive ships ashore on the eastern coast. In Ireland the E. and S. coasts present about an equal number of wrecks, the smaller number being on the northern and western. In the year 1855 no less than 1141 wrecks occurred on the coasts of the United Kingdom, about one-half of that number belonging to the E. coasts of Great Britain. The loss of life from shipwreck during that year was comparatively small, being only 469, or less than one-third of the loss of the preceding year, the average loss per annum being between 600 and 700 lives.

Passing over a great variety of proposals for life-boats, we proceed to notice the boat which the Life-Boat Institution recommends and supplies to its stations. Its history is interesting. A few years ago, a lamentable accident occurred to a South Shields life-boat, whereby twenty pilots were drowned. This induced the Duke of Northumberland to offer a reward for the best model of a life-boat. This offer was responded to by boat-builders and others from various

parts of the kingdom, as well as from France, Holland, Germany, and America, so that 280 models and plans were sent in. About fifty of the best of these were exhibited by his grace in the Great Exhibition of 1851; and he expressed his intention of placing the best life-boats, with their subsidiary apparatus, on all the exposed points of the coast of Northumberland. He also caused a report to be prepared, accompanied by plans and drawings, with a view to elicit the best form of life-boat: for although the prize of £100 was assigned to Mr Beeching of Great Yarmouth, it was considered that a better boat might still be produced. Accordingly, Mr James Peake, assistant master-shipwright in H.M. Dockyard at Woolwich, and a member of the Life-Boat Committee appointed by the Duke of Northumberland, was requested to furnish a design for a life-boat which might combine as many as possible of the advantages, and have as few as possible of the defects, of the best of the models examined by the committee. A boat was accordingly designed by Mr Peake, and built at the public expense in Woolwich Dockyard. Some modifications were from time to time made in her, in consequence of various experiments, and a trial of her capabilities made in a gale of wind at Brighton. The boat, with others of the same design, built at the cost of the Duke of Northumberland, was placed on the Northumberland coast in the autumn of 1852. In the course of the following winter these boats were taken afloat on trial by the Society's inspector of life-boats, some of them in heavy seas and gales of wind, and the result of the trials was considered to be highly satisfactory. Other boats were therefore built on the same plan, and we may therefore consider this as the model life-boat. These boats have been for the most part of two sizes, viz., 27 and 30 feet in length, with $7\backslash frac\{1\}\{2\}$ to 8 feet beam, and rowing from eight to twelve oars, double-banked; their weight averaging two tons. But as such boats have been found too heavy to be managed in some localities, where boatmen are few, boats of less beam and weight, rowing six oars single-banked, but on the same design in other respects, have been built under the denomination of second-class life-boats. The former class of boats have also been somewhat modified since the description of the boat was first published, so as to be reduced somewhat in beam, and to have less height, and greater sharpness of bow and stern, to enable them to be rowed with greater speed against a head gale and a heavy

sea. They are also built of fir, upon the diagonal principle of double planking without timbers, whereas the earlier

boats were of elm, and clenched, or clinker-built.

The accompanying figures show the general form and the

Life-Preservers. nature of the fittings and air-chambers of one of these boats, 30 feet in length, and 7 feet 6 inches in breadth. In

figs. 16 and 17, corresponding to the elevation and deck-plans, the general exterior form of the boat is seen, showing the sheer of gunwale, length of keel, and rake, or slope of stem and stern posts. The dotted lines of fig. 16 show the position and dimensions of the air-chambers within board, and of the relieving tubes. A represents the deck, B the relieving tubes, 6 inches in diameter, C the side air-cases, D the end air-chambers. In fig. 18 the exterior form of transverse sections, at different distances, from stem to stern is shown. Fig. 19 represents a mid-ship transverse section, A being sections of the side air-cases, B the relieving tubes, bored through solid massive chocks of wood of the same depth as the space between the deck and the boat's floor; C, C are spaces beneath the deck filled up, over 6 feet in length, at the mid-ship part of the boat, with solid chocks of light wood, or boxes of cork, forming a portion of the ballast; D is a section of a tier below the deck, with a moveable hatch or lid, in which the boat's cable is stowed, and into which all leakage beneath the deck is drained through small holes with valves fixed in them. In some of the later boats a small draining tier only is placed, having a pump in it, by which any leakage can be pumped out by one of the crew whilst afloat. The festooned lines in fig. 16 represent exterior life-lines, attached round the entire length of the boat, to which persons in the water may cling until they can be got into the boat; the two central lines are festooned lower than the others, to be used as stirrups, so that a person in the water by stepping on them may climb into the boat.

The chief peculiarity of a life-boat is its incapability of being sunk, in consequence of its being fitted with water-tight air-cases, or compartments. One of the difficulties of life-boats has been to decide as to the amount and distribution of such air-cases. The necessary space for rowing and working the boat, and for the stowage of shipwrecked persons being secured, the spare space along the sides within-board should be entirely occupied by buoyant cases, or compartments, because, on the boat's shipping a sea, the water, until got rid of, is confined to the midship parts of the boat, where it serves to a great extent as ballast, instead of falling over to the lee-side, and destroying the equilibrium of the boat. Hence, barrels or casks, which do not conform in shape to the sides of the boat, are not well adapted to serve as air-cases. In Mr Peake's life-boat there is a water-tight deck at the load-water-line, and detached air-boxes along the sides, closely conforming to their shape from the thwarts to the deck. Extra buoyancy is also derived from large end air-cases, built across the bow and stern, and occupying from 3 feet to 4½ feet in length, from the stem and stern posts to gunwale height. These cases are chiefly intended to provide self-righting power; but in the event of the boat being stove in, and the space below the deck being filled with water, these air-cases alone have sufficient buoyancy to float the boat.

The second peculiarity of a life-boat is its power of discharging, in a few seconds, any water which may be shipped by the breaking over of the sea, or by the boat being suddenly thrown on her beam-ends. This property does not belong to all life-boats, for, in certain cases (the Norfolk life-boats, for example), the plugs which stop up certain holes in the floors are taken out during a gale of wind, or a heavy sea, so as to let the water into them until it is

at the level of the sea. The water thus let in is confined by the wide side-cases to the mid-ships of the boat, where it serves as a loose ballast, and the boatmen consider that it is safest to go off under sail with the boat deeply immersed. The Liverpool life-boats have no relieving holes, so that when filled by a sea, the water must be got rid of by baling. In Mr Peake's boats there is a water-tight deck at the load-water-line, and a number of large open tubes, opening at the surface of the deck, and passing through the space between the deck and the floor; the bottom orifices being furnished with self-acting valves opening downwards, so as to allow any water shipped to escape through them. The deck being placed at or above the load-water-line, any water which is above it will be above the outside level of the sea, so that the water escapes from the deck by its own weight, and disappears in a few seconds.

As a life-boat has very great buoyant power, it is important to her stability and safety to attend to the ballasting. The Greathead life-boats have usually no ballast, their great breadth of beam being relied on for stability; but some of them have a tank in the midships beneath the deck which can be filled with water. Beeching's life-boats are similarly ballasted; but accidents, with loss of life, have arisen from a difficulty in filling the tanks, and preventing the escape of the water when full; hence solid ballast is to be preferred. Mr Peake's life-boats are ballasted with heavy iron keels, and with solid wood and cork ballast, stowed under the decks; and should these be stove in, and the space beneath be filled with water, the wood and the cork would supply extra buoyancy.

A life-boat ought to be self-righting if upset, a property which, however, belongs only to Mr Peake's and Mr Beeching's boats, some boat-builders considering that stability is sacrificed thereby. The fact, however, has been established in the Life-Boat Journal, that the means employed to produce self-righting add to the stability of a boat, and improve her in other respects. The self-righting power is thus attained:—"1st. The boat is built with considerable sheer of gunwale, the bow and stern being from 1 ft. 6 in. to 2 ft. higher than the sides of the boat at her centre, and the space within the boat at either extremity, to the distance of from 3 to 4½ ft. from the stem and stern posts to gunwale height, is then inclosed by a sectional bulk-head and a ceiling, and so converted into a water-tight air-chamber, the cubical contents of which, from the thwarts upwards, are sufficient to bear the whole weight of the boat when she is placed in the water in an inverted position, or keel upwards. 2d. A heavy iron keel (from 4 to 8 cwt.), is attached, and a nearly equal weight of light wood or cork ballast is stowed betwixt the boat's floor and the deck. No other measures are necessary to be taken in order to effect the self-righting power. When the boat is forcibly placed in the water with her keel upwards, she is floated unsteadily on the two air-chambers at bow and stern; whilst the heavy iron keel and other ballast being then carried above the centre of gravity, an unstable equilibrium is at once effected, and the weight of the iron keel falling over on one side, immediately restores the boat to her proper position; in other words, she self-rights" (The Life-Boat, No. 22).

Lateral stability or stiffness, being the tendency to preserve an upright position in the water, with proportionate resistance to upsetting, is obtained by breadth of beam or by ballast—as in Mr Peake's boats, by an iron keel and other solid ballast, and by flatness and length of floor, with moderate beam only. The other qualities to be required in a good life-boat are speed, strength, and stowage-room, all of which seem to have been well-considered in Mr Peake's boats.

A new description of life-boat, invented by the Rev. E. L. Berthon, M.A., of Fareham, and known as the Fareham Life-boat, has been made the subject of a patent. Its novel feature is, that it is collapsible, so that it combines the pro-

property of the life-boat, with facility of stowage in a small space. Hence, it is well adapted for the use of ships, especially large steamers, emigrant vessels, and troop-ships. Its frame-work is of wood, all the timbers extending the whole length of the boat, there being no transverse timbers or ribs. The timbers, four on each side of the stem and keel-piece, are thin, flat, and deep, something like a thin slice of melon; they are made without scarfing, by bending plank over plank till the required thickness is attained. They are jointed together at their ends, and to the tops of the stem and stern posts by a kind of chain hinge. When the boat is collapsed, these timbers stand side by side in vertical planes, like the leaves of a closed book; but when expanded, they stand apart in radial planes, somewhat like the segments of an orange. Attached to the edges of all the timbers are the water-proof coverings, of which there are two, the outer skin being secured to the outer edges, and the inner skin to the inner edges of the timbers, by which means the whole body of the boat is divided into eight separate longitudinal cells or compartments, which become filled with air on expanding the boat. This is effected and maintained by the bottom boards and thwarts, which being jointed along the middle line, are made to stand up at an acute angle when the boat is collapsed, and fall down to straight lines when open. The inventor compares the principle of extension to that of a carriage-head, the frame of which may be compared to the boat's timbers, and the joints to the thwarts and stretchers of the bottom boards; and as the leather covering of the carriage shuts in when the head is down, so the coverings of the boat shut in between the timbers. The boat has rather a deep keel, besides two bilge pieces on each side, and in every other salient point the covering is protected by wood or copper. The boat is lowered by the following contrivance:—Inside the bulwarks is a large, flat, deeply-grooved sheave about 2 ft. 6 in. in diameter; it has two deep, narrow grooves cut nearly to its axis, and in these are wound separately the ends of the two falls. From this sheave is a projection on which a friction-strap with a powerful lever is made to work. This being placed flat against the bulwarks, the falls are brought to it fore and aft by small sheaves set in the top-rail; thus the friction of the strap when the boat is up is enough to prevent motion; but by slackening the lanyard by which the lever is secured, it may be allowed to descend rapidly or slowly, according to the pressure applied to the break. Rising and falling derricks are substituted for davits.

The average size of the Fareham life-boat is 32 by 10 ft., it has eight thwarts, besides seats round the stern, and will pull, if required, twelve oars double-banked.

Captain Manby's proposal for throwing ropes from ship to ship in cases of accidents may easily be understood from the methods which he employs for saving lives in shipwrecks. The life-buoy by Lieutenant Cook, R.N. F.R.S., Professor of Fortification at Addiscombe College, is related to the same class of inventions; its object is to preserve the life of a person falling overboard in the night, by means of a floating light; and it obtained him a gold medal from the Society of Arts in 1818. (Transactions, xxxvi., p. 121.) He observes that a ship may often have to run half a mile before she can get about and lower a boat, so that it becomes highly desirable to afford a temporary support to the sufferer. The machine consists of two copper spherical air-vessels, with a square tapering tube through each, made water-tight, and united together by a cross piece of wood, in which are two brass conducting tubes through which is fixed a perpendicular tubular-staff, with a brass ferule at each end, and a copper sliding rod, nearly its own length, within it. Attached to the lower end of the rod is a flat circular balance-weight, bearing a chain by which the life-buoy is suspended, and a link which, when hooked to a stud

in the lower ferule, bears up the rod and the balance-weight, but which, when unhooked, allows the weight to draw the rod about two-thirds out of the staff. To the head of the perpendicular staff is attached at night a fuse, on a brass fuse-plate, the shank of which is secured into a socket by a thumb-screw. The buoy is secured to the ship by the chain only, the ring of which hangs on the hook of the sheave of the trigger-plate. Attached to the stern of the vessel are two iron rods cased with copper tubing, together with the screw-bolts, from which they are suspended; just above the forked stay which keeps the rods parallel, at a proper distance from the stern, is the trigger-plate, and the brass fuse-case which covers and protects the fuse on the head of the staff. There is also a brass case for the lock or percussion hammer, placed so as to communicate with the fuse-case, by means of the horizontal tube; all these, together with the pulleys and guard-iron are, firmly attached to the stern of the vessel, inside of which, immediately opposite to the pulleys, are fixed the cups and handles, the one for firing the lock and lighting the fuse, the other for raising the trigger-bolt and disengaging the buoy from the ship. As soon as the trigger-bolt is raised, the sheave revolves, the stop turns round, and the life-buoy slides off the rods into the water, bearing on the head of the staff a brilliant flame. The balance-weight, when no longer held up by the chain, drops upwards of 3 feet below the cross-piece, prevents the buoy from upsetting, and affords a place for the man to stand on. This apparatus admits of being lighted and let down into the water in the short space of five seconds. Lieutenant Cook is also the inventor of a plan for converting boats used for ordinary purposes into life-boats at pleasure.

Mr Miller's safety-poles for skaters, and Mr Prior's mode of preventing accidents in descending mines, are mentioned in the Transactions of the Society of Arts (vols. xxxii. and xxxvi.) Apparatus of the latter kind has been introduced at different times with various modifications. In coal-pits, or coal and iron pits, where the men are raised and lowered in a rectangular iron frame called a cage, the rope or chain may break, or the cage may be overwound by drawing it over the framing at the pit's mouth. Mr Robert Blee of Redruth has introduced what he calls a safety-bucket, and Messrs White and Grant of Glasgow have a safety-cage. These inventions depend upon some such arrangements as the following:—Two pairs of eccentrics are attached to the ends of two parallel shafts, which extend across the top of the cage; the edges of the eccentrics are toothed, and when the cage is in motion they are free of the vertical wooden rails which steady the cage in its motion up and down the pit. Should the rope break, two volute springs bring round the thick sides of the eccentrics to bear against the guides, and hold the cage securely. To prevent over-winding, the holdfast which connects the rope to the cage is secured by a curved bolt, kept in place by a strong spring; this bolt moves on a fulcrum, and is continued as a lever beyond the holdfast; across the framing at the mouth of the pit is a bar so arranged that, when the lever comes in contact with it, the bolt becomes disengaged, the cage by the action of the eccentrics becomes fixed, and the rope only is drawn up over the pulley. In Mr Blee's safety-cage the catches allow it to move freely so long as there is a vertical strain on them; but should this cease by the breaking of the rope, the catches become liberated and attached to the iron staves of the ladders placed on either side of the shaft.

A sketch of the expedients which have been recommended for the preservation of mariners, published in a work entitled Shipwrecks and Disasters at Sea (vol. iii., p. 459, Edinb. 1822, 8vo), contains a few further historical details relating to some of the inventions which have been described. (T. Y.) (C. T.)