conversant with that than any other of the yards; and we could not but observe with great pleasure, the disposition that has been shewn by the Admiralty of late years to get from every quarter of the world timber of all description, to test which is the best adapted for ship building purposes. They have had oak timber from Italy, from Istria and from Styria for timbers of ships, and from Dantzic and Memel oak plank for bottom, this last is imported from three to six inches thick, is free from knots and is of hard texture and very durable; a great deal of the Italian oak is large and nicely formed for ship's timbers, and the Istrian oak, for building steam vessels, the prettiest small compass timber that was ever seen and appears to be of good texture. There are also several sorts of Larch, Italian, Polish and North American or Hackmetak. A merchant ship of near five hundred tons came to Chatham twice, whilst we were there, built in Prussia of Polish Larch, by the person who was her captain, she had been fourteen years employed since she was built, had never had any repairs done to her, and was quite as sound and good as when built. The Polish Larch is coarse looking timber, but the knots are well collared, and it appears well adapted for ship building. The Italian Larch is of a finer grain, freer from knots, but we know nothing of its durability. The Hackmetak Larch was small and straight and did not bear a compa

rison with Italian or Polish Larch. There was also a large quantity of African timber, by some misnamed Teak, it is a hard reddish wood, straight or compass, it appears to be very durable, but with great loss upon its conversion, and it is unpleasant timber to have to do with, for sometimes without exhibiting any symptoms of decay on the outside, there will upon sawing it be found hollow places within the log, large enough for a man to lie down in. It is however useful for bitts, for beams, and loamings of hatchways. It is also useful for steps of ladders on board ships, for pillars, &c. There is also another timber called pitch Pine from Savannah, when it is good it is very durable, but it is full of a hot resinous substance, that as soon as the tree is past its prime appears, if not cut down then, to eat up and destroy all the fabric. It is of uncertain quality, and not a pleasant timber to convert for that reason. They are also using a very curious timber from New Zealand, called Cowdie, the trees are very large, some of them being sixty to seventy feet long, and from twenty to twenty-four inches in diameter and holding seventeen inches at the top end. It has no knots and is capital for topmasts, and for cutting in planks for steam vessels, as it can be worked in long shifts. After all we have seen we think there is nothing like Teak, and if the British Government do not build ships in India, we wonder they do not import Indian Teak. It

is almost everlasting, and although the first cost appears high it would be cheaper to use it at any price that it might cost.

A fourteen horse power engine drives the machine at the ropery, for winding each thread of the yarn as it is spun and passed through hot tar, as well as four capstans for forming the strands, that is a number of yarns pass through a tube, and are connected to a machine called "an equaliser," which gives the proper twist and compression to the said strands, preparatory to closing three of them together into one rope.

In a building close to the ropery is what is called "the lead mill," where leaden pipes as well as sheet lead is manufactured by machinery, driven by a beautiful engine of twenty horse power. For carrying on the process, lead pipes are first cast in pieces of two or three feet in length, having an iron rod equal to the diameter of the bore passing through them, they are then removed to what is called "drawing triblet," which consists of a strong cast iron frame fitted with appropriate machinery, which carries the pipes backwards and forwards; square pieces of iron, (called dies), having holes of graduated size, are fixed to this triblet, through which the pipes successively pass till they arrive at the required thickness, which governs the length of the pipes, varying from fourteen to twenty-two feet.

Sheet lead is manufactured by first casting a

large thick piece of lead, and passing it between two iron rollers, which exert an enormous pressure against it, and expand it every way at each revolution; the distance between these rollers diminishes gradually and by this means the lead is framed into a sheet of any required size.

In addition to this work, the same engine propels the machinery in an adjoining part of the building, where paint is manufactured; dry white lead is first bruised under heavy stone rollers, and afterwards sifted; it is then put into the mill with a sufficient quantity of oil to be mixed to a certain consistency, ready for the grinding stones.

The advantage of substituting steam power for manual labour is here admirably illustrated; it will be seen that an engine of twenty horse power does as much work as would require six or seven times as much men to perform.

At the north-east extremity of the Dock-yard stands a new work, called the Saw Mills, projected and executed by that excellent and talented engineer, Mr. Brunel, who has done more for the mechanical arts than any man living, and who is the constructor of the Thames Tunnel and the Block Machinery at Portsmouth Dock Yard. The saw mills, as their name imports, are for the purpose of converting timber into planks or boards for the various purposes of ship-building, and the general service of the yard.

The building is erected on an eminence, thirtyfive feet above the level of the lowest part of the

by the agency of steam.

yard, and the operation of conversion is performed The mill is on an extensive scale, and the mechanism may be reduced to three principles :—

First, That the saw is drawn up and down, as long as is necessary, by a motion communicated to the wheel. Second,-That the piece of timber to be cut is advanced by an uniform motion to receive the stroke of the saw, and not the saw to follow the wood. Third, That when the saw has cut through the whole length of the timber, the whole machine stops of itself, and remains immoveable; lest, having no obstacle to surmount, the moving power should turn the wheel with too great a velocity, and injure the machinery.

The room in which the saws are worked is ninety feet square, and covered with a light roof of wood and wrought iron, which contributes much to the internal beauty of the place. In this room there are eight saw frames and three circular saw benches, besides the capstans for supplying the frames with the wood, by drawing the pieces from the outside of the mill to the side of the saws.

These frames are entirely independent of each other, and are capable of carrying from one to twenty-four saws; the number of saws put into one frame will depend on the number of cuts that are to be made, and may be arranged at different distances, according to the thickness required.

The supplying the saws with timber may be