Tuose of our readers who are interested in shipping, and more particularly in vessels employed in the dangerous branch of commerce which proved fatal to the Horatio, will appreciate the value of the following note on Chloroform as a kerosine-fire extinguisher, which we extract from an American paper:—"The French journals are "discussing a very curious and "valuable method proposed by Omme-"ganch, of Antwerp, of extinguishing "the flames of burning petroleam,—"flames upon which water seems to be "without effect. Chloroform, it is "asserted, is absolutely non-inflam-"mable, and, mixed with petroleum in the proportion of one-sixth, will render "the latter also incombustible. More than this, if a quart of petroleum be "poured into a shallow dish so as to "expose a surface of 40 square inches, "and then ignited, two cubic inches of "chloroform will extinguish it and "render the remainder incapable of "re-ignition, In this case the quantity "of petroleum would be nearly 16 "times that of the chloroform. If imilar results can be obtained on "the large scale, it would be obviously "desirable for vessels laden with potro-"Team to carry also a supply of chloro-"form. To be: sure the expense of "the latter substance might at first "seem to be an obstacle; but it would "certainly be much better to expend a "reasonable sum in this way than to "lose vastly more valuable property "in the flames." The difficalty is of course to estimate what would be a reasonable quantity of chloroform carry as a precautionary measure. Ifa ship 200 feet long and 35 fect beam has a surface of 4,500 square inches on her upper deck, and carries a cargo of 100,000 gallons of kerosine, assuming that the whole of the kerosine were aflame at the same moment, and in free communication throughout—a most improbable supposition—the proportion of chloroform to be applied would be some 18,000 gals. Reducing the calculation to something like the actual area of risk, however, a thousandth part of that quantity, or 18 gallons, would no doubt prove ample to guard against all contin. gencies on a long voyage, as well as in loading and discharging. In a single outbreak of fire, unless it originated in a peculiarly inaccessible position," a very small quantity of chloroform would have to be applied, both to arrest the flames and to prevent any chance of their again breaking out in the same locality. A few hotiies, judiciously dashed into the hold or on deck, would probably meet the exigency without risk to the operator. It is very unlikely that we shall again hear of a fire on board a kerosine laden ship arising from such a cause as that which is reported to have led to the burning of the Horatio—the collection of tins, empty, leaky, or full, on deck, in a position or for purposes which increase manyfold the ordinary risk a ship is subjected to by having them on board.
they require repair or attention of any kind, or have to wait until a dilatory consignee has taken charge of them, they ought certainly to be landed and stored where the chances of their own loss by fire, or of their leading to the destruction of other property, are reduced to a minimum. Taking the remedy suggested above, however, nothing could be simpler than to have a small supply of chloroform at hand in a convenient form, when such an inflammable substance as ker-esme is being moved about; and, expensive as it is, five or ten dollars' worth, applied promptly, could scarcely have failed, if the scientific authority quoted may be depended on, to save the good ship which was devoted to the flames only a week ago. We have suggested 18 gallons as a quantity of chloroform which might be expected to meet all emergencies. Taking into consideration the fact that chloroform has a specific gravity one-half greater than water, this quantity represents 270 lbs. avoirdupois, and even at the price of tne article in Shanghai, $3.50 per Ib. barely involves an outlay of $1,000, which after all is no great sum to pay for the additional security, when we reflect that the chloroform retains is value, if it should not be calld into use to extinguish fire, Chloroform must be very carefully put up, her ver, to make it keep, as it has the a: ward property of escaping from even the most closely stoppered bottles, But this objection might be over. come by having it put up at home in tubes of say two ounces each—a handy form for its application—and having these tubes hermetically sealed under the blow pipe. 'The uncontrollable character of kerosine when once it has caught fire, renders the remedy given in the paragraph above quoted one of the highest importance; and though the appalling conditions of a fire' at sea have led to the suggestion being put prominently forward in connection with that most dreadful form of the catastrophe, it is scarcely less advisable that the same restraining agency should be kept in readiness wherever kerosine is stored. Ordinary methods of extinguishing fire are admittedly useless when kerosine has to be dealt with, and its ignition might in some cases lead to the liberation of a stream of liquid fire which, whether it flowed on water (as on the Thames in 1860), or on land, would inevitably carry disaster and perhaps death on its flaming tide,
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.