Scientific American Supplement, No. 598, June 18, 1887

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June 18, 1887, by Various

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Title: Scientific American Supplement, No. 598, June 18, 1887

Author: Various

Release Date: March 22, 2004 [EBook #11662]

Language: English

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SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN SUPPLEMENT NO. 598

NEW YORK, JUNE 18, 1887

Scientific American Supplement. Vol. XXIII, No. 598.

Scientific American established 1845

Scientific American Supplement, $5 a year.

Scientific American and Supplement, $7 a year.

THE HAVRE MARITIME EXHIBITION.

The Havre Maritime Exhibition opened on the 7th of May.

Will this exhibition awaken general interest, or will it prove a local affair simply? This is a secret of the weeks that are to follow.

Should nothing chance to discourage the general interest that surrounds Havre, to dampen the enthusiasm of the public, or to act to the prejudice of the exhibitors, whose very evident desire is to show nothing but remarkable products in every line, the International Maritime Exhibition will prove a great success.

THE INTERNATIONAL MARINE EXHIBITION AT HAVRE.—THE PRINCIPAL ENTRANCE.

The people of Havre have two points of comparison that more particularly concern themselves: Their Maritime Exhibition of 1868, which, as far as exhibition goes, was a complete success, is the first. The financial results of it were not brilliant, but that was due to certain reasons upon which it is not necessary to dwell. On the contrary, the Rouen Exhibition of 1884 proved profitable.

The Havre Exhibition, under able management, can have only a like good fortune. It must be said that the people of Havre would be deeply humiliated should it prove otherwise.

A very appropriate location was selected for the Exhibition, in the busiest quarter of the center of the city. Its circumference embraces one of the finest docks of the port—the Commerce Dock, thus named because it could not be finished (in 1827) except by the financial co-operation of the shipowners and merchants of the city. For the purposes of the Exhibition, this dock is now temporarily closed to navigation.

In the various structures, wood has been exclusively employed. The main building, which alone has a monumental character, is Arabic in style, and is situated in the center of Gambetta Place, over Paris Street, which here becomes a tunnel. Two facades overlook the ends of this tunnel. A third facade, which is much longer, fronts Commerce Dock.

The edifice is surmounted by a spherical cupola that serves as a base to a semaphore provided with masts and rigging. On each side of the sphere there are two pendent beacons. Wide glazed bays open in the external facades, and allow the eye to wander to the south through Paris Street as far as to the outer port, to the summits of Floride, and to see beyond this point the bay of La Seine, Honfleur, and the coast of Grâce. To the north, the most limited view has for perspective the City Hall, its garden, and the charming coast of Ingonville.

The principal facade, that which fronts Commerce Dock, from which it is separated solely by a garden laid out on Mâture Place, is the most attractive and most ornamented. Here are located the restaurants, the cafes, the music pavilion, and a few other light structures.

Internally, this portion of the Exhibition comprises a vast entertainment hall, brilliantly and artistically decorated with tympans representing the three principal ports of commerce—Havre, Bordeaux, and Marseilles—and with pictures by the best marine painters. It is lighted by an immense stained glass window which fronts Commerce Dock and the garden, and which lets in a flood of soft light.

The galleries to the right and left, over Paris Street, are reserved for the exhibitions of the ministers of state and of the large public departments, and for models, specimens, plans, and drawings of war and merchant vessels, and of pleasure boats, and for plans of port, roadstead, and river works.

Two endless galleries run to the north and south of Commerce Dock, parallel with Orleans Wharf on the one hand and Lamblardie Wharf on the other.

The northern gallery is connected by a foot bridge with the annex of Commerce Place, where is located the colonial exhibition, the center of which is occupied by a Cambodian pavilion, in which are brought together the products of Indo-China and Algeria. For half of their extent, the two galleries are separated from the dock by a promenade provided with seats and covered with a roof. On this promenade, it became necessary to make room for certain belated exhibitors whose products are not affected by the open air.

In Commerce Dock are to be seen, floating, specimens of every ancient and modern naval construction, French and foreign, among which are the state convette Favorite and an English three-master converted into a cafe boat. We find here, too, the giant and prehistoric oak of the Rhine, on board of the Drysphore.

Commerce Dock is divided into two parts by a foot bridge, which allows the visitors to pass from one side to the other without being compelled to tiresomely retrace their steps.

The main entrance to the Exhibition is opposite the portico of the theater, on Gambetta Place. A second entrance is found on Commerce Place in the colonies annex. The others, near the center, are on Orleans Wharf, opposite Edward Larue Street, and on Lamblardie Wharf, opposite Hospital Street and opposite Saint Louis Street.

The garden of the Exhibition and the galleries that surround it are illuminated at night by the electric light.—L'Illustration.

OUR COAST DEFENSES.

General H.L. Abbott delivered a lecture before the Academy of Sciences in New York, on the evening of March 21, a summary of which is given by the Herald as follows:

According to General Abbott, the country needs for its coast defenses:

Heavy guns;

Armor-clad casemates;

Disappearing gun carriages in earthworks;

Heavy mortars;

Submarine mines or fixed torpedoes; and

Fish torpedoes.

The lecturer said that this nation may be attacked in four ways: First, by fleet and army combined, as in our revolutionary war; second, by blockading the entrances to all our ports; third, by bombardment of our seaport cities from a long distance; fourth, by a fleet forcing its way into our harbors, and making a direct attack or levying tribute on our people.

The first is not now greatly to be feared. We are too distant from great powers, and too strong on land.

The second should be met by the navy, and is, therefore, outside a discussion of coast defenses.

The third is not probable, though it may be possible. The extreme range of 10 miles for heavy guns cannot be obtained from shipboard, and as an elevation of only 15° or 16° can be given, not over 5 to 6 miles range is attainable.

The fourth is the one which is possible, probable, even certain—if we have war before we have better defenses.

The race between guns and armor began about thirty years ago, and there has been more development in ships and guns in that time than in the two hundred preceding years. The jump has been from the 7 in. rifle as the largest piece to the 110 ton Armstrong; in armor, from 4½ in. of iron to the Inflexible with 22 in. of steel plating. The new Armstrong gun of 110 tons, tried only recently, with 850 pounds of powder and an 1,800 pound shot can pierce all the targets, and so far guns have the victory over armor. This gun developed 57,000 foot tons of energy, and will probably reach 62,000. Imagine the Egyptian needle in Central Park, shod on its apex with hard steel, dropped point downward from the height of Trinity steeple; it weighs 225 tons, and it would strike with just about the effect of one of the 110 ton gun's projectiles. Two of these guns are ready for the ironclad Benbow, and the Italians have several equally powerful of 119 tons from Herr Krupp. The most powerful gun in the United States, the 15 in. or the 12 in. rifle, has a muzzle energy of 3,800 foot tons.

Ships like the Inflexible are the most powerful afloat. A steel water-tight deck extends across the ship, and she has 135 water-tight compartments. Her guns and engines amidships have a protection of 24 in. of armor, and amidships she has a citadel carrying two revolving turrets, each containing two 80 ton guns. Her turret armor is 18 in. thick. She can make 14 knots, and she has cost $3,500,000. But she has a low freeboard, and the guns, therefore, get no plunging fire.

The French ship Meta has her heaviest guns mounted en barbette, high above the water line, giving a splendid plunging fire.

Either of these ships could enter any of our harbors and hold us at her mercy.

The entrance to the harbor of Alexandria, Egypt, is about 5 miles across. At the time of the bombardment the protecting fortifications were situated at the east end, in the center, and at the west end. On the west there were mounted 20 modern guns of great size and power, and there were 7 others at the east end.

Although the Egyptians fought bravely, they did